Barentsburg

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Barentsburg (bä´rəntsbŏŏrg), town, Spitsbergen island, Svalbard, Norway. A coal-mining settlement, it was established (1912) by a Norwegian company. Its mines have been worked by the Dutch (1921–26) and since 1932 by the Russians. It was totally destroyed (Sept., 1943) by German battleships but quickly rebuilt.