On this island, no baby is born and no dead are buried!

On this island, no baby is born and no dead are buried!

There is an island in the Arctic Ocean called Svalbard, which belongs to Norway.

There are bars, restaurants, schools, and a university on this island, but there is no maternity ward in Svalbard hospitals because the island's laws prohibit giving birth on its territory. Therefore, pregnant women must travel to mainland Norway about a month before giving birth.

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of life on this island is what happens at the end of it: burying the dead is illegal. Due to the harsh climate and permafrost, burials are not permitted on Svalbard because the bodies will never decompose.

There are small graves on the island dating back to 1918, after the death of seven Norwegian men. Their graves were exhumed in 1998 and were in such good condition that traces of influenza were still present in their cells 80 years later.