Chapter 4. The places of Franz Josef Land: current visits and imagery

Andreas Umbreit

doi:10.7557/5.3581

Authors

Andreas Umbreit Terra Polaris

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7557/5.3581

Keywords:

Franz Josef Land, historic place names, historical geography, historical archaeology, polar exploration, Oslo NSF workshop

Abstract

Recent tourist cruises of Franz Josef Land have offered the chance to search for the remains of historic expeditions to the islands, as well as expeditions that used the islands as a base from which to try to reach the geographic North Pole. Expedition leader Andreas Umbreit discusses his recent such finds at both Greely Island and Teplitz Bay on Rudolf Island, as well as several other sites.

Author Biography

Andreas Umbreit, Terra Polaris

Andreas Umbreit was born in Munich in 1959 and brought up in the Bavarian Alps, where he served also his military service in a unit of the army mountain forces. He has worked as an Arctic guide, lecturer, and expedition leader in Svalbard since 1987 and in 2003 became one of the first Western expedition leaders to Franz Josef Land. He has also visited Novaya Zemlya, Wiese, Severnaya Zemlya, and Vaygach. His website dedicated to the history and flora and fauna of Franz Josef Land, www.franz-josef-land.info, consists of more than 60 subpages with more than 500 photographs and maps and is visited on average by 60 users per day. His Guide to Spitsbergen, which includes a segment on Franz Josef Land, is now in its 10^th edition in German and 4^th in English.