Pyramiden is a mining village in Spitsbergen, named after the pyramid-shaped mountain under which it lies. Established by the Swedes in 1910 and later sold to the Soviet Union in 1927, it was a bustling village with, at its peak, 1000 residents and amenities to make life in the harsh Arctic Circle somewhat pleasant: a swimming pool, theater, music studios, and a library. Above all, the residents worked diligently to extract, process, and transport millions of tons of coal from the mine. On March 31, 1998, the mine closed, and on October 10 of that year, the last inhabitant left the village. While tourism seems to be slowly picking up in the area, a significant number of buildings remain untouched since the last people closed their doors. The cold and isolated location prevent decay and vandalism, but the effects of time are clearly visible. Increasingly warmer summers and growing tourism will eventually contribute to fading this vulnerable piece of history.