Romancing the ice
AYEESHA ZAWAHIR
|
The Icehotel is a spectacular structure made of ice and snow.
|
Breathtaking sight: Sculptured in ice.
Jukkasjärvi is a town in Swedish Lapland in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, northern Sweden. Icehotel near Jukkasjärvi, is the first and most famous of the ice hotels. In Spring 1990, French artist Jannot Derid held an exhibition in a specially built igloo on the frozen Torne. The 60-square metre building named Artic Hall attracted many visitors. One night there were no rooms available in the town, so some of the visitors spent the night in the exhibitio
n hall. The concept of Icehotel was born.
Summer in Jukkasjärvi is intense. The sun shines for 100 days and nights without setting, melting snow and ice and transforming the countryside into a vibrant green. The water of free flowing Torne is among the purest in Europe. The Icehotel is the brainchild of Yngve Bergqvist a Swede. Now in its 13th season, the Icehotel is rebuilt every year using the massive ice resources of the Torne. From a single room structure it has grown into a 5,000 square metre complex.
Super structure
Construction work on the hotel begins in October. Vaulted steel pillars up to five metres high are positioned. Thousands of tons of snow are moulded around these pillars using snow canons and front loaders to create the super-structure. These pillars are then removed after the snow has ‘set’. This freestanding structure of snow arches is then reinforced with ice pillars. After this initial construction phase craftsmen and artists are able to refine the interior — carving the walls, creating the windows, doors, beds, chairs, tables and lamps — ready for the arrival of the first guests in mid-December. The hotel usually begins melting from May on, with the water eventually flowing back into the river.
The sight, as you open the main, reindeer-skin clad doors, is simply breathtaking – a grand, ice pillared hallway illuminated by a spectacular ice chandelier. All the rooms feature special beds made of snow and ice. These are covered with mattresses and reindeer pelts. Guests sleep in specially designed thermal sleeping bags. The suites are unique rooms that are decorated with ice art and sculptures.
A more recent addition to the hotel is the Ice Church, where weddings and christenings take place.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Young World
