Willem Barentsz [SEP] native language
Willem Barentsz
Willem Barentsz (; anglicized as William Barents or Barentz) (c. 1550 – 20 June 1597) was a Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer.
Barentsz went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northeast passage. He reached as far as Novaya Zemlya and the Kara Sea in his first two voyages, but was turned back on both occasions by ice. During a third expedition, the crew discovered Spitsbergen and Bear Island, but subsequently became stranded on Novaya Zemlya for almost a year
these hunters were the first discoverers of Svalbard, not Willem Barentsz, a point of view which the museum pursues as well.
Despite the Russian stance on Willem Barentsz, archaeological finds from his expeditions are featured in the museum's exhibits, as are artefacts recovered from the settlements of the Pomors and other early explorers from the 16th century and onwards. Other things shown in the museum include a large geological collection featuring minerals and fossils, taxidermal polar wildlife, Svalbard-related artwork, and exhibits on Barentsburg's coal mining history