Itsukushima - Japan

Japan's Itsukushima is a sacred place, and keeping it clean is paramount. Thus, in an attempt to keep the island clean, the priests persuaded the government to pass a law in which it is forbidden to die on the islands. Since 1878, not only death, but also birth has been prohibited on the islands. Pregnant women and the elderly are allowed to visit the islands if they have a certificate that the former will not give birth during the period of visiting the island, and the latter will not die on the island.

Blood was shed on the island only once, it happened during the battle for Miyajima in 1555, after which the victor ordered to clear the islands of bodies and all the land “defiled” by blood was thrown into the sea.

Longyearbyen - Norway

The Arctic city of Longyearbyen, on the islands of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway, also has a similar ban. Death is forbidden. The city still has a small cemetery, but it stopped accepting new burials more than 70 years ago. The reason for the ban is that the organs of the dead never decompose. It was discovered that the bodies buried in Longyearbyen were, in fact, perfectly preserved on the permafrost. Scientists have even managed to separate tissue from a man who died there in the early 20th century and found intact traces of the flu virus that killed him in 1917.

And those people who are seriously ill or will die soon are sent by plane or ship to other cities in Norway.

Falciano del Massico - Italy

In Falciano del Massico, a small town in southern Italy, people can't die, it's not because of environment or religious beliefs, but simply because there is not a single free place for the dead in cemeteries. The mayor issued an order earlier this month in which he stated that "residents are prohibited from leaving the earthly life, and leaving for the other world on the territory of the town."

In parallel, the mayor decided to build a new cemetery, but until then, people are ordered to "refrain from death."

Sarpourenx - France

A decree banning people from dying was also issued by the mayor of Sarpourenx, a picturesque village in southwestern France. The decision came after a French court denied permission to expand an existing city cemetery. But Mayor Gerard Lalanna went too far, not only did he forbid death, but, according to his decree, everyone who dares to die will be severely punished.

Although the punishment is not described in this decree ...

Longyearbyen is the northernmost settlement in the world with a population of about two thousand people. It is located on the Svalbard archipelago - in the habitat of polar bears, so literally every local carries a weapon with him. And there are also parking lots for sled dogs and abandoned mines, around which, in fact, this town appeared.

British traveler and journalist Sadie Whitelocks spoke about a summer trip to Longyearbyen, the largest locality and the administrative center of the Norwegian province of Svalbard in the Svalbard archipelago.

“Despite the fact that upon arrival in Longyearbyen it was two in the morning, it was as bright as day, and the temperature was below 10 degrees Celsius,” says the journalist. - I ventured from Oslo to this tiny city of about 2,200 inhabitants. I spent two days there, learning about the history of this place, which used to be a center of coal mining, and the remnants of its past that have been left to rust in the cold climate.”

The city was named after its founder, business engineer John Munro Longyearbyen, who laid a coal mine here in 1906. In 1916 the settlement was sold to a Norwegian company.

During the Second World War, after the occupation of Norway in 1940, the inhabitants of Longyearbyen were evacuated to the UK. The city itself and many of its mines were destroyed in 1943 by shelling from German warships, but they were quickly rebuilt after the war.

There is a special relationship with polar bears here. Since Svalbard is the kingdom of bears, literally all residents carry weapons with them in case of an attack, and every student at the local university learns to shoot in the first days of classes.

Yes, this small settlement has its own university, which makes the capital of Svalbard a unique place: the northernmost university in the world, the northernmost hospital, a library, etc. are located here.

Since the locals use snowmobiles and dog sleds during the winter months, there are even special "parks" for dogs.

“Walking along the main street of the city with souvenir and street shops, I decided to continue walking into the valley, where I saw a glacier in the distance. After I walked past dozens of colored houses in brick and dark green shades (there is a special color consultant in the city to ensure that all buildings are painted in the appropriate shades), the landscape around me became wilder, ”continues the journalist.

On the dark slopes of the hills, the journalist noticed several abandoned coal mines with wooden shacks.

Coal mining in and around the city had almost died out by the early 1990s, and today the output of the only operating mine in the city is used primarily for the needs of the city's power plant.

Today, once a mining village, it has become an important tourist center in Norway, where thousands of tourists come every year to see the magnificent Arctic nature with their own eyes.

Since the middle of the 20th century, the authorities have set a course for the normalization of life in the city and the development of social infrastructure. In the same years, a significant development of tourism and research activities began. The opening of the airport in 1975 was important event for the life of Longyearbyen, which gradually turned into a tourist destination.

Interesting fact: Longyearbyen has a law that prohibits dying on its territory. If someone becomes seriously ill or there is an incident with a potentially fatal outcome, the victim should be immediately transported to another part of Norway, where he will die. But even if death occurs in the city, the dead are still buried on the mainland. These measures are due to the fact that in the conditions of permafrost, the bodies do not decompose at all after burial, and attract the attention of predators.

Falciano del Massico - Italy

In Falciano del Massico, a small town in southern Italy, people cannot die, it is not because of the environment or religious beliefs, but simply because there is not a single free place for the dead in the cemeteries. The mayor issued an order earlier this month in which he stated that "residents are prohibited from leaving the earthly life, and leaving for the other world on the territory of the town."
In parallel, the mayor decided to build a new cemetery, but until then, people are ordered to "refrain from death."

Sarpourenx - France

A decree banning people from dying was also issued by the mayor of Sarpourenx, a picturesque village in southwestern France. The decision came after a French court denied permission to expand an existing city cemetery. But Mayor Gerard Lalanna went too far, not only did he forbid death, but, according to his decree, everyone who dares to die will be severely punished.Although the punishment is not described in this decree ...

Itsukushima - Japan

Japan's Itsukushima is a sacred place, and keeping it clean is paramount. Thus, in an attempt to keep the island clean, the priests persuaded the government to pass a law in which it is forbidden to die on the islands. Since 1878, not only death, but also birth has been prohibited on the islands. Pregnant women and the elderly are allowed to visit the islands if they have a certificate that the former will not give birth during the period of visiting the island, and the latter will not die on the island.
Blood was shed on the island only once, it happened during the battle for Miyajima in 1555, after which the victor ordered to clear the islands of bodies and all the land “defiled” by blood was thrown into the sea.

Longyearbyen - Norway

The Arctic city of Longyearbyen, on the islands of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway, also has a similar ban. Death is forbidden. The city still has a small cemetery, but it stopped accepting new burials more than 70 years ago. The reason for the ban is that the organs of the dead never decompose. It was discovered that the bodies buried in Longyearbyen were, in fact, perfectly preserved on the permafrost. Scientists have even managed to separate tissue from a man who died there in the early 20th century and found intact traces of the flu virus that killed him in 1917.
And those people who are seriously ill or will die soon are sent by plane or ship to other cities in Norway.

Longyearbyen is the largest settlement and the administrative center of the Norwegian province of Svalbard (Spitsbergen archipelago). It is the northernmost settlement in the world with a population of over a thousand people.

The city has a law that prohibits dying on its territory. If someone is stricken with a serious illness or an accident with a potentially fatal outcome occurs, the patient will be immediately transported by air or by sea to another part of Norway, where he will die. But even if death happens in the city, they will bury the dead person all the same on " big land". Such measures were forced to come due to the fact that in permafrost conditions the bodies do not decompose at all and attract the attention of such predators as polar bears.

Svalbard is the country of bears. Therefore, every student at a local university learns to shoot exclusively on the first day of classes.

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Blood was shed on the island only once - this happened during the battle for Miyajima in 1555, after which the victor ordered to clear the islands of bodies, and all the land "defiled" by blood was thrown into the sea.

Longyearbyen (Norway)

In an arctic city on the islands of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway, there is a similar prohibition: death is forbidden. The city still has a small cemetery, but it stopped accepting new burials more than 70 years ago. The reason for the ban is that the organs of the dead never decompose. It was discovered that the bodies buried in Longyearbyen were in fact perfectly preserved in permafrost conditions. Scientists even managed to find traces of the influenza virus in the body tissues of a man who died in 1917.

Those people who are seriously ill or who will soon die are sent by plane or ship to other cities in Norway.

Falciano del Massico (Italy)

IN , a small town in southern Italy, the story of the prohibition against death is a little different. People are forbidden to die here not because of the environment or religious beliefs, but simply because there is not a single free place for the burial of the dead. The mayor issued an order that local residents, as well as the guests of the village, it is forbidden to leave the limits of earthly life in order to go to the next world.The mayor is currently planning a new cemetery, but until then people have been ordered to refrain from dying.

Sarpurenks(France)

Decree prohibiting people from dying was issued by the mayor Sarpurenks , a picturesque village in the southwest of France. This decision was made after the court refused to expand the existing city cemetery. Mayor Gerard Lalanna went too far: he not only banned death, but also issued a decree according to which everyone who dares to die will be severely punished. His actions were a symbolic protest against the court's decision. Lalanna himself died 10 months after the decree was passed.