The Winter at Novaya Zemlya
   

Het Behouden Huys

Illustration 7
Illustration 7. From the ship's wood, the crew constructed the so-called Behouden Huys, a log-cabin which provided shelter for the long and barren Arctic winter. Primitive traps to catch polar foxes were set up outside.

The Behouden Huys, literally the safe house, was constructed by the seventeen crew-members in traditional Norwegian style, to cope with the extreme cold of Novaya Zemlya, where winter temperatures can fall as low as minus 40o Celsius. Two doors had to be passed through before one entered the main room of the cabin. This was designed to keep the frosty air outside. In order to protect the house from gales and storms, an additional set of wooden poles was placed on the side which was most vulnerable to the winds.

Illustration 8

>Read about the hero's welcome on the return voyage.