Jonsbu was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

station (Jonsbu Radio/LMW)Kystradio - Stasjonshistorie
/ref> located on the coast of Eastern

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

in present-day

King Christian X Land King Christian X Land ( da, Kong Christian X Land) is an area of northeastern Greenland. History This area was named after King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland (1870 – 1947), who rose to the throne in 1912. At the time of the Three-year ...

. Administratively the area where the hut stood belongs now to the Northeast Greenland National Park. The site is located in southern

Hochstetter Foreland Queen Margrethe II Land ( da, Dronning Margrethe II Land) is a peninsula in the northern limit of King Christian X Land, northeastern Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the NE Greenland National Park area. History The peninsula was named aft ...

on the western side of

Peters Bay Peters Bay ( da, Peters Bugt) is a bay of the Greenland Sea in King Christian X Land, Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the NE Greenland National Park area. History The bay was first surveyed by Carl Koldewey during the 1869–70 Second ...

, northeast of the mouth of

Ardencaple Fjord Ardencaple Fjord is a fjord in King Christian X Land, northeastern Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park. History Ardencaple Fjord was named by Douglas Clavering as "Ardencaple Inlet" in 1823, but the in ...

, about from

Cape Klinkerfues A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

.''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute'', p. 124

History

The station was built in 1932 by John Giæver's expedition, about northeast of the mouth of Ardencaple Fjord. It was named ''"Jónsbú"'' after Norwegian journalist

John Schjelderup Giæver John Schjelderup Giæver (31 December 1901 – 9 November 1970) was a Norwegian author and polar researcher. Jónsbú Station in NE Greenland was named after him. Personal life He was born in Tromsø in Troms, Norway. He was the son of law ...

(1901–1970), who lived as a hunter and trapper in East Greenland from 1929 to 1934. The station had also been known as ''"Norsk Petersbugt Station"''. Together with

Myggbukta Myggbukta, meaning "Mosquito Bay" in Norwegian, was a Norwegian whaling, meteorological and radio station (Myggbukta Radio/LMG) located on the coast of Eastern Greenland in present-day King Christian X Land. The site is located at the head of Ma ...

, as well as Storfjord,

Torgilsbu Torgilsbu was a Norwegian hunting, meteorological and radio station (Torgilsbu Radio/LMQ) located on the King Frederick VI Coast, Southeastern Greenland. Administratively the area were the hut stood belongs now to the Kujalleq municipality. The ...

and

Finnsbu Finnsbu was a Norwegian hunting, meteorological and radio station (Finnsbu Radio/LMX) located on the King Frederick VI Coast, Southeastern Greenland. Administratively the area were the hut stood belongs now to the Sermersooq municipality. The s ...

further south, Jonsbu became part of the Norwegian contribution to the

International Polar Year The International Polar Years (IPY) are collaborative, international efforts with intensive research focus on the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor in 1875, but died before it first occurred ...

1932–33. The original station was burnt down in August 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in an attack by

Greenland Patrol The Greenland Patrol was a United States Coast Guard operation during World War II. The patrol was formed to support the U.S. Army building aerodrome facilities in Greenland for ferrying aircraft to the British Isles, and to defend Greenland with ...

ship . The ship destroyed the station in order to prevent its facilities from being used by the military of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. In 1948, well after the end of the war, the new Jónsbú Station was built in a new location south of Peters Bay, on the other side of Ardencaple Fjord by the mouth of Kildedal at . In order to differentiate the two huts, the ruin of the old station is also known as ''"Gamle Jonsbu"'' (Old Jonsbu) —although the name "Jónsbú Station" is still officially applied to it— and the new one as ''"Ny Jonsbu"''.

Bibliography

*Spencer Apollonio, ''Lands That Hold One Spellbound: A Story of East Greenland'', 2008 *Frode Skarstein, ''“A cursed affair”—how a Norwegian expedition to Greenland became the USA’s first maritime capture in World War II.'' Norwegian Polar Institute,

References

External links

The Norwegian trapping cabin of Jonsbu, located in Petersbay in eastern Greenland, in 1939

Ruins in Greenland 1932 establishments in Norway History of Greenland {{greenland-geo-stub

History

Bibliography

See also

References

External links