The Franz Josef Archipelago was discovered quite by accident in 1873 by a group of Austrian explorers. Therefore, the northern land is named after the Austrian Emperor who ruled at that time.
Although the Russian Empire flag was first raised on the archipelago in 1901, Franz Josef Land was officially incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1926 as part of the Arkhangelsk region. The USSR established the polar station, an airfield, and an observatory on the archipelago for Soviet expeditions to the North Pole.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, many of the land's sites were abandoned, but today, the world's northernmost post office "Arkhangelsk 163100" and the world's northernmost meteorological station - the Ernst Krenkel Observatory - work there.
Since 2012, the territory of Franz Josef Land has been part of the Russian Arctic National Park. Polar bears and walruses are the masters there, and huge colonies of migrating seabirds nest on rocky slopes and cliffs.
Take a look at Sputnik's photo gallery covering the enigmatic beauty of Russia's northernmost point!
