The original site for Longyearbyen was on the rise above the west bank of the stream that runs down to the fjord from the two glaciers. Today the rise is dominated by the wooden Svalbard Kirke , which was first built in the 1920s but later rebuilt after being destroyed in the German invasion during WWII; it's usually left open. Some 50m south of the church stand five weathered wooden steps , all alone, and a sign, 'Sykhustrappa' (Hospital Stairs). They're all that remain of Longyearbyen's first hospital and they have a special significance for the town's residents. Traditionally, a week of celebrations to dispel the weeks of winter darkness begins once the first of the spring sun's rays touched the forehead of someone standing on the top step.
South of the church and the steps, wooden pillars emerging from the permafrost are all that remains of the original settlement; again, the houses that once stood here were burned to the ground during WWII.
Further into the valley to the south lies a haunting little graveyard with its simple white, wooden crosses with dates. It dates from the early 20th century and includes the bodies of seven young men in Longyearbyen who were struck down by the Spanish flu in October 1918, a virus that killed 40 million people in Europe, Asia and North America.
From here there's a fine view across the valley to the evocative remains of former Mine No 2 .
