Sweden: Will Jukkasjärvi Ice Hotel Melt?

A Village 200 Kilometers from the Norther Polar Circle

Jukkasjärvi is a small village in Sweden behind the northern polar circle. This one is situated near Kiruna. To get there you ideally rent a car or travel by your own automobile. In the past, markets were here. Today, mostly there are sports activities both in summer and winter.

56 Days of Work

The first snow hotel in the world which started in 1989 is one of the things you may experience here. The construction of the hotel begans every year in November. Before six weeks of constrcution the 60 square meter hotel gets its final shape. And everything goes from the start in the following autumn. This way the hotel has been re-built 28 years in a row.

How This Year's Project Will Work Out?

In the years prior, the hotel melted down but this year a huge igloo was built. It should withstand spring and summer months. However, no one knows how it will end up. This unique project takesp lace for the first time ever. The owners and the architects, scientists, and artists can't wait if the whole thing will work out. 

Don't Forget Your Thermo-Clothes

The hotel consists of cold and warm rooms. Hence, guests may stay in a cold one as well as warm room. Cold rooms see the temperature anywhere from minus 5 to minus 8 degrees Celsius. You receive a sleeping bag tested for extreme temperatures. Beds are covered in fur.

Ice Drinks in Ice Glasses

Hotel guests can enter the room from 6 pm. The ice kingdom is open to the public during the day. Thsi way you may visit each room and walk through ice corridors, stop by at a ice bar, gallery, or hear the commentary on the construction.

An Elephant, Peacock Feather Fan, Ice Chandelier

Should you be lucky, you can watch the architects at work transporting ice blocks on wheels and watch how they carve sculptures out of them. Rooms are illuminated. Designs are original. Every room is called by its architect who worked on every little detail. Up to 60 architects from all around the globe take part on designing a room.

Yngve Bergqvist is hotel's founder. He reveals that the original ida comes from Japan. Special moulds are used to construct an igloo of incredible size. People from all around the world travel up there to admire. The hotel was awarded the World Travel Award in the years of 2012, 2014, and 2015.

Natural Construction Material Without Need of a Warehouse

Who is credited with the largest part on constructiong the hotel? The River Thorne streaming through the village of Jukkasjärvi. The river feeds the building with quality material. This wild river freezes in winter making space for this great construction.

The Kingdom of Ice – New Experience

Travelling enchriches one, gives courage, and knowledge... While travelling one meets different peopel and gets to different places. So here I stand in the middle of a room of ice and watch how this incredible hotel is being built.

GPS: 67°51'03.1"N 20°35'42.9"E

Text ana photos: Šárka Vacková