In 1926 Russia, then a constituent republic of the USSR, claimed the archipelago as national territory, which was disputed by Norway they now are part of the Russian Arctic National Park. The islands were explored in 1873 by Karl Weyprecht and Julius von Payer, leaders of an Austrian expedition, and were subsequently more fully explored by expeditions such as those led by Frederick George Jackson (1894–97), Fridtjof Nansen (who spent the winter of 1895–96 in Franz Josef Land), Walter Wellman (1898–99), the duke of the Abruzzi (1899–1900), Evelyn Baldwin (1902–3), and Anthony Fiala (1903–5). Some 90% of Franz Josef Land is covered by ice interspersed with poor lichen vegetation the average mean temperature is 6.5℉ (−14.2℃). Government observation stations (erected 1929) and settlements are on the latter two islands, and a military base (erected 2015) is on Aleksandra Land. It consists of more than 190 islands of volcanic origin, including Aleksandra Land, George Land, Wilczek Land, Graham Bell Island, Hooker Island, and Rudolf Island. Zemlya Frantsa Iosifa, archipelago, c.6,300 sq mi (16,320 sq km), in the Arctic Ocean N of Novaya Zemlya, Russia. Closed off to visitors for many years during the Soviet era, the archipelago is just now being "re-discovered" as an ideal destination for expedition cruises.Franz Josef Land (frăns jōˈzəf, fränts yōˈzĕf), Rus. Several books have been written with great reverence for this fascinating archipelago. The deep history of Franz Joseph Land has many amazing stories. It wasn’t until the collapse of the Soviet Union and 1991 that foreign scientists were welcome to the islands, which were declared a nature reserve in 1994. Over the years, Italy, and Norway claimed Franz Josef Land as their own, but in 1930 soverignty was settled when Otto Schmidt, head of the Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route, hoisted the Soviet flag on Yuri Kuchiev Island. It would be almost 30 years before a Russian expedition, led by Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov, reached Franz Josef Land on board the Yermak, the first Russian icebreaker, and raised the Russian flag for the Czar. Interestingly, von Payer became a painter and, toward the end of his life, sketched out an idea for an expedition to the North Pole in a submarine! Fortunately, a Russian fishing boat spotted them, and eventually helped them get back to Norway.Įven though von Payer and Weyprecht had accomplished a great deal in those two years, they could not think of any practical use for the forbidding islands of Franz Joseph Land and never returned. However, since there wasn't much else they could do with their time, they took advantage of the situation and charted as much of the archipelago as they could.Īfter nearly two years aboard, the officers and crew abandoned the Tegetthof for good, taking to sledges and small boats looking for the open sea and, hopefully, fair winds back to Novaya Zemlya. In hindsight, of course, we realize that these whalers and trappers were completely different kinds of explorers, inspired more by the need to eke out a living than any fame that might be achieved by claiming sovereignty over a group of uncharted islands.īoth von Payer and Weyprecht knew they were brought to the forbidding islands of Franz Joseph Land by accident. Dutch whalers as well as Norwegian and Russian trappers had almost certainly been familiar with some of the islands prior to the voyage of the Tegetthof.
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