Smeerenburg

Smeer (Dutch), meaning speck or blubber, accordingly the name means blubber town.

Last update: 03. July 2024

”Blubber town” was the main base for Dutch whaling in the first half of the 1600s. The blubber produced oil for lighting, paint, soap and other products in demand, in the increasingly-expanding urban Europe. Contrary to the myth of 20 000 inhabitants and a hectic party-life in Smeerenburg, the reality was 200 hard-working men in a growing oil industry at almost 80° North.