Van Mijenfjorden

The Van Mijenfjord ( norwegian Van Mijenfjorden ) is an approximately 50 km long and 10 km wide fjord on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard. It is the northern arm of the Bellsund and thus limited Nordenskiöld Land to the south and Nathorst country to the north. At its north-eastern end of the bay is Braganzavågen (after Aldegonda, Princess of Braganza, who had in 1892 attended a Spitzberg expedition itself), in the mining settlement Sveagruva is. Its northeastern end is called Rindersbukta ( by Michiel Rinders, a Danish whaling captain ).

Van Mijenfjord is bounded at its mouth on virtually the entire width of the island Akseløja, leaving only two narrow straits connecting the fjord with the North Atlantic. For this reason, the water is relatively calm in the fjord and it freezes in the winter to early, which in turn makes the removal of the experiences of Sveagruva coal in winter impossible.

Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld wanted to dedicate this fjord Willem Van Muyden, head of the Danish whaling fleet from 1612-1613, but has made ​​a mistake in the spelling of its name. The name has nevertheless remained in the wrong spelling to this day. Van Muydenbukta, a bay north of Bellsund, bears the name in the correct case. Others, today historical name for the Van Mijenfjord are Lowe Sound ( Poole 1610, Fotherby 1613 ) with different spellings; Kloeck river - the fjord was held for the delta of a river - ( Blaeu 1623, etc.); Bell River ( Scoresby 1820); Dry Fjord - because Braganzavågen partially dry at low water falls - ( Keilhau 1831).

Literature and sources

• Article Van Mijenfjorden in The Place Names of Svalbard; Norsk Polarinstitutt; Oslo 1942-2010; ISBN 82-90307-82-9 ( 2001 edition ) (English / Norwegian)

• Spitsbergen
• Bay in Svalbard