Sweden's Icehotel opens for winter with fantastical frozen art

Every December, Sweden's Icehotel hosts chilly hotel rooms that are decorated with wonderfully creative ice sculptures. This year's selection of frozen art is as stunning as always and ranges from intricate nature scenes to abstract forms depicting the birth of a star. The 2023/2024 season marks the Icehotel's 34th year of operation and its creation involved cutting and carrying thousands of ice blocks from a local frozen river in Jukkasjärvi, Swedish Lapland.

The ice blocks were painstakingly carved into the sculptures by a team of 32 artists from 14 countries worldwide. "Icehotel 34 has taken six intense weeks to build, with 500 tonnes [551 US tons] of ice and 10 Olympic swimming pools of 'snis' – a mix of ice and snow," explained the hotel's press release.

"Working on Icehotel 34 started in the spring when ice blocks were harvested from the Torne River to be kept cold in the ice warehouse in Jukkasjärvi. The ice harvested in the spring has been used to make 34 the magical experience it is. Artists from all over the world – Sweden, Poland, Japan, Italy, Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, France, Singapore, Slovakia, and the UK – were selected by a thorough jury to create unique art suites and halls for guests to experience." Katt & Råtta, shown above, was designed by Sweden's Tjåsa Gusfors and Belgium's Hanneke Supply.

The artwork depicts a large rat clutching a block of cheese. A house cat looks on, ready to devour them both. Minus 10, by France's Luc Voisin and Mathieu Brison, probably isn't the best choice for those planning on hitting the nearby ice bar. It's formed so that every element of the room is tilted 10 degrees.

Alongside the main cold suites, a selection of which can be viewed in , there's also a frozen ceremony hall and a movie theater elsewhere in the hotel. Icehotel 34 will stay open until April, after which it will close and all the sculptures will be allowed to melt away. Hardy types that are up for spending a night will be kept cozy with hot drinks and reindeer hides.

However, for the rest of us, there are also 44 warm hotel rooms on site too – plus that's open year round. Source:.