Grytviken

Grytviken is a small place on South Georgia in the South Atlantic. It used to be the largest settlement on the island and was once a whaling station. The name Grytviken means "pot bay" and was given in 1902 after people found old pots used for making oil from seals.

The place was set up again in 1904 by a Norwegian explorer named Carl Anton Larsen. Grytviken has flat land and fresh water, which made it a good spot. The whaling station closed in 1966 because there were not enough whales left.

Today, Grytviken does not have permanent people living there. Sometimes researchers and workers stay there. It is also a popular spot for tourists on Antarctic cruises. Many visitors go to see the graves of famous explorers Sir Ernest Shackleton and Frank Wild. Grytviken is very close to King Edward Point, which is the main settlement on the island.

History

Carl Anton Larsen

The settlement of Grytviken was started on 16 November 1904 by Norwegian sea captain Carl Anton Larsen. He created it as a whaling station for his Compañía Argentina de Pesca (Argentine Fishing Company). It was very successful, with 195 whales caught in the first season. The whalers used every part of the whales – the blubber, meat, bones, and insides – to make oil, fertilizer, and animal feed. Elephant seals were also hunted for their blubber. About 300 men worked there during the southern summer, from October to March, with a few staying over winter to look after the boats and factory. Ships came every few months with supplies and to take away the oil and other products. The next year, the Argentine Government added a meteorological station.

Carl Anton Larsen was born in Sandefjord, Norway, and later became a British citizen. He wrote that he had given up his Norwegian citizenship and planned to live in South Georgia for a long time. His family, including his wife and children, lived in Grytviken.

Larsen picked the spot for Grytviken during a visit in 1902. He was on the ship Antarctic for the Swedish Antarctic Expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld. The name Grytviken means “The Pot Cove” and was given by a Swedish scientist who found old seal-hunting tools there.

Some managers of the whaling station had their families live there too. One of these families had a daughter, Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen, who was the first child born south of the Antarctic Convergence on 8 October 1913. She grew up in Grytviken. Over the years, many more children were born on South Georgia.

The number of whales around the island dropped a lot over the next sixty years. The station closed in December 1966 because there were too few whales left to hunt. Today, the shore at Grytviken still has many whale bones and old, rusting pieces of whaling equipment.

Ernest Shackleton

Grytviken is famous for its connection to explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. In 1914, Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, got stuck in ice near the Weddell Sea. The ice broke the ship on 27 October 1915. The 28 crew members escaped in small boats to Elephant Island. Shackleton and five others sailed to the south coast of South Georgia in the James Caird. They reached Cave Cove and walked to Stromness. From Grytviken, Shackleton organized a rescue to save the rest of the crew.

Shackleton returned to Grytviken for another expedition but sadly passed away there just after New Year’s Day before the trip could start. He was buried there, south of Grytviken, next to some whalers who had passed away on the island.

In 2011, the ashes of Shackleton’s close friend, Frank Wild, were placed next to Shackleton’s grave. Wild’s family and Shackleton’s granddaughter attended a special service.

Falklands War

Main articles: Battle of Grytviken and Operation Paraquet

During the Falklands War in April 1982, Argentine forces took over Grytviken after a short fight with British Royal Marines. The British forces, including SAS and SBS, took it back three weeks later without any more fighting.

An Argentine ship, ARA Guerrico, helped land soldiers who fought the British troops at Grytviken. One Argentine helicopter was shot down, and a few Argentine soldiers were hurt or lost. The British officer in charge, Lieutenant Keith Mills, received an award for defending the area.

While the British leader and some others were taken away, 15 British people stayed hidden. The fight at Grytviken stopped Argentina from taking over more of the island. The British kept control of Bird Island and other areas.

On 25 April, the British damaged and captured an Argentine submarine at South Georgia. The soldiers from Argentina in Grytviken gave up without fighting back the next day. One Argentine soldier was accidentally shot and buried in the Grytviken Cemetery. The Argentine soldiers were taken off the island, and a hidden Argentine base was destroyed later.

Current situation

Grytviken and the area around it are now a special place for tourists to visit. Many cruise ships stop there, and visitors often go to see Shackleton’s grave. The South Georgia Museum is in the old manager’s house and is open during the summer for tourists.

The station's church is the only building that is still used for its original purpose, sometimes holding services. The first marriage in Grytviken was in 1932.

In 2007, a special service remembered a Norwegian whaler buried in Grytviken and celebrated the baptism of his great-great-grandson in Norway the same day.

Multiple shipwrecks are scattered around Grytviken. The ships Petrel, Dias, and Albatross were left behind and have rusted over time.

Geography

Main article: South Georgia § Geography and fauna

Climate

Grytviken and King Edward Point have a tundra climate with long, cold winters and short, cool summers. The warmest temperature ever recorded there was 28.8 °C (83.8 °F) on March 10, 1922.