Ice sculptures have a rich history, and evidence suggests people may have been . However, as tools and technology advanced, ice sculptures did as well. In the 1600s, fishermen in the China province of Heilongjiang would freeze water inside buckets and then remove the buckets and put a candle inside to create ice lanterns—a tradition still celebrated today at the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.
Later, in 1739, Russian empress Anna Ivanovna had an "ice palace" built out of ice from the Neva River to host special events. Artist in an oil painting in 1878.
Today, artists around the world have created memorable sculptures out of ice and snow, but even still, there isn't one clear, prescriptive way to set about sculpting the frozen elements. However, snow is often compressed and packed down, and then ice sculptors use tools like ice chippers, chisels, and sheetrock saws to cut through large swaths of snow, and machetes for finer details. Some artists .
Ice and snow sculptures don't last forever, of course. The time you can expect an ice or snow sculpture to stay standing depends on the size, temperature, sunlight, and air circulation. It's estimated that a at a temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit. A picture, of course, will last longer—so compiled a collection of 50 amazing snow and ice sculptures from different winter festivals around the world. Keep reading to discover just some of the imaginative creations people have come up with.
FRED DUFOUR/AFP // Getty Images
Ice maze at the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival
The in northeast China is the world's biggest winter festival, attracting up to 20 million visitors every year. The festival has three venues: the Sun Island Scenic Area, the Ice and Snow World—where the ice maze is located—and Zhaolin Park, where there are more than 1,000 ice sculptures on display.
STEFFEN SCHMIDT/DPA/AFP//Getty Images
'Powerful' lion sculpture in Bernau, Germany
The lion snow sculpture "Powerful" by artists Peter Hermann and Grant Rundbladet was part of the 2018 Black Forest Snow Sculpture Festival in Bernau, Germany. During the event, artist teams work to measuring 72 cubic meters using saws, shovels, and scrapers. The festival also includes a ski show and fireworks.
Michal Stipek // Shutterstock
World Snow Festival in Grindelwald, Switzerland
The , has taken place every January since 1983. The event invites artists from around the world to sculpt icy artwork from blocks of snow that measure a meter high. The 2021 festival was canceled due to COVID-19, and the 2022-2023 festivals were canceled due to a lack of snow. Festival planners are hoping for the festival's return in 2024, in time for its 40th anniversary.
ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP // Getty Images
Unicorn sculpture in Edinburgh, Scotland
Darren Jackson's unicorn ice sculpture was a part of a 2017 exhibition in Edinburgh, "The Ice Adventure: A Journey Through Frozen Scotland." Jackson was who carved ice sculptures depicting Scottish history and culture using chainsaws, chisels, and hammers. Inside the exhibition hall, the temperature was -10 degrees Celsius or 14 degrees Fahrenheit so the ice sculptures could maintain their solid forms.
OLI SCARFF/AFP // Getty Images
An ice steam train in Manchester, England
Mark Hackney's ice steam train sculpture was part of 2018's "Ice Village" in Manchester, England. When the attraction opened in Cathedral Gardens, it was the first of its kind in Britain, where 250 tons of ice were used to create a winter wonderland that also was . In addition to the intricate ice sculptures, "Ice Village" also featured an ice bar and ice rink, and Santa's grotto.
Ian Gavan // Getty Images
Ice thrones at Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland
In 2015, Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland in London featured a magical ice kingdom, complete with 300 pieces of ice art from thrones to frozen animals, all of which were created with tools that included power drills and steel samurai swords. A total of worked to create the project, two of whom worked on a giant snow ogre that ended up weighing double the amount of the average elephant.
FRANK PERRY/AFP // Getty Images
Cricket ice sculpture at the Machines de l'Ile in France
The Machines de l'Ile in Nantes, France, is a giant art project that embraces the industrial history of Nantes in western France with mechanics and creativity. The theme park's main attraction is the Great Elephant, that can carry 49 passengers who can see up close and personal how the gears in the giant sculpture work to propel it forward. In 2012, sculptors carved a block of ice into a cricket in front of spectators in the park.
JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT/AFP // Getty Images
'Flying in a Dream' in Valloire, France
Russian sculptor Andrey Molokov's "Flying in a Dream" ice sculpture was one of the frozen works of art on display at the 28th , in January 2019.
JOHN THYS/AFP // Getty Images
Stormtrooper ice sculpture in Liège, Belgium
In 2015, the town of Liège in Belgium held a Star Wars-themed ice sculpture festival that created by 30 different artists from around the globe. The sculptors used 500 tons of ice to create the works of art, which varied from two meters to six meters high. In addition to the frozen stormtrooper, visitors also could see icy tributes to Darth Vader, Yoda, and Princess Leia.
KOEN SUYK/AFP // Getty Images
Ice artist at the Dutch Ice Sculpture Festival
The annual attracts artists from around the world who are tasked with shaping more than 600,000 pounds of ice and snow into frozen sculptures that reflect the year's theme.
RADEK MICA/AFP //Getty Images
Fish ice sculpture in Pustevny, Czechia
Each year, the town of Pustevny in the Beskydy Mountains in Czechia hosts a world-renowned ice sculpting festival that attracts thousands of visitors. In 2019, six artists carved sculptures from 40 tons of ice for about a week using chainsaws, grinders, and other power tools. The giant blocks of ice in Opava and then are shipped to Pustevny and housed in tents to prevent melting.
Sergey Chirkov // Shutterstock
Religious ice sculpture in Izhevsk, Russia
The Udmurt Ice Festival in Izhevsk, Russia, was started by local artists from a group called Creative Dacha and has continued to expand since it was started. In 2018, the festival welcomed 28 ice artists from Russia and Belarus, who all worked for five days on their frozen creations.
Karkas // Shutterstock
'Fantastic Gate' in Yekaterinburg, Russia
Yekaterinburg, Russia, is the host of the , which takes place in the capital of the Ural region. In 2015, a local team from Arkhangelsk was awarded the top prize for a sculpture titled "The Joy of Victory," which depicted the country's 1945 victory in World War II and the victory of good over evil.
MariSah // Shutterstock
Ice sculpture of a diver in St. Petersburg, Russia
The St. Petersburg, Russia, Ice Fantasy festival is held annually at the Peter and Paul Fortress and features ice sculptors from around the world. In 2019, the theme of the festival was "Around the World," and depicted global landmarks, including St. Petersburg's symbol, the Scarlet Sails. That sculpture was the , measuring eight meters tall.
[Pictured: Ice sculpture of a diver at the Ice Fantasy festival in St. Petersburg, Russia in December 2018.]
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP // Getty Images
Ice sculptures in Victory Park in Moscow, Russia
The ice used in the Ice Moscow Festival in Victory Park , and colorful lights installed at the base of the sculptures allow spectators to fully appreciate the natural ice's transparency. The 2016 iteration of the festival included an ice replica of the Kremlin, complete with frozen slides.
MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP // Getty Images
Ice replica of Rome's Trevi Fountain in Moscow, Russia
The featured frozen replicas of some of the world's most famous world landmarks, from the Trevi Fountain in Rome to the Taj Mahal in India and Russia's own St. Basil's Cathedral.
Singulyarra // Shutterstock
A theater sculpted from ice in Perm, Russia
In the winter of 2011 and 2012, Ice Town in Perm, Russia, attracted over 1 million visitors. The region of Perm itself is home to the , a gypsum cave with ice crystals. Experts consider the Kungur Ice Cave to be the only gypsum cave with vast glaciation—or being covered in ice—in the world.
[Pictured: A theater awaits the crowds in Ice Town in Perm, Russia on Feb. 17, 2012.]
VLADIMIR SIMICEK/AFP // Getty Images
Tatra ice temple in eastern Slovakia
Beginning in 2013, ice sculptors have traveled to Hrebienok in eastern Slovakia every year to build what is called the Tatra ice temple, or a scaled-down version of a world-famous church. In 2019, the temple was a 36-foot-high icy replica of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The sculpture took a team of 16 sculptors a month to build, and they to finish the project. The temple was crafted from 1,880 ice blocks weighing 225 tons.
Lena Maximova // Shutterstock
International Ice Sculpture Festival in Jelgava, Latvia
The International Ice Sculpture Festival in Jelgava, Latvia, is the and has taken place annually for more than 20 years. In 2017, 32 professional sculptors from eight countries travelled to Latvia and created 45 ice sculptures, as well as an ice bar. Children and adults alike also could learn from the sculptors themselves at an ice workshop.
[Pictured: Detail of an ice sculpture named "Reality" by artist Elena Smirnova and Ivan Smirnov in Jelgava on Feb. 17, 2018.]
Roberto Sorin // Shutterstock
Hotel of Ice in Balea Lake, Romania
The Hotel of Ice in Balea Lake, Romania has been built yearly since 2005 in the Fagaras Mountains and from far and wide. The hotel is built from snow and ice blocks from the largest glacial lake in the Fagaras Mountains and has a different theme each year. The hotel also has an ice restaurant, where food is served on plates made of—you guessed it—ice.
achinthamb // Shutterstock
Ice canoe sculpture at Lake Louise, Canada
The Ice Magic Festival has been a staple in Lake Louise in the Canadian province of Alberta for 25 years and attracts every year. The festival takes place every January for 12 days and draws international artists who come to compete in some of the festival's events, including speed-carving contests.
melissamn // Shutterstock
Sculpture of two moose butting heads in Alberta, Canada
Four snow artists sculpted their depiction of two moose interlocking antlers at the 2019 Banff International Snow Sculpting Competition, earning the Filipino-Canadian team both as well as the people's choice award. The group called the piece "Tangle," and it was displayed on Bear Street in the resort town of Banff.
Art Babych // Shutterstock
'Mother Earth' in Quebec
The Mosaivernales Winter Festival in the Canadian province of Quebec takes place in Jacques-Cartier Park yearly and showcases some of the best snow and ice art in the world. In 2018, the festival featured along a kilometer-long trail. The 2018 event was the festival's 40th anniversary.
[Pictured: Mother Earth is one of 24 illuminated snow sculptures at the Mosaivernales Winter Festival in February 2018.]
Reimar // Shutterstock
King Tut ice sculpture and burial mask in Toronto
The Bloor-Yorkville Icefest in Toronto returned to the Village of Yorkville in 2019, of ice carved into sculptures that reflected the "Hollywood North" theme of the festival which paid tribute to the film industry in the region. The event also featured an ice-carving demonstration and an ice-carving competition.
[Pictured: King Tut ice sculpture and burial mask with purple lights at Bloor-Yorkville Icefest in February 2015.]
Carolyne Parent // Shutterstock
Hôtel de Glace in Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Canada
The Hôtel de Glace in Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier in the Canadian province of Quebec is the only one of its kind in North America and changes its theme each winter. The hotel has 42 rooms and suites, where guests can stay warm in arctic sleeping bags and enjoy the hotel's .
[Pictured: The 2018 Hôtel de Glace in Saint Gabriel de Valcartier Quebec.]
Gary Whitton // Shutterstock
Volunteers from far and wide in Fairbanks, Alaska
The World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska, was founded in 1990 and annually hosts over 100 ice artists from around the globe. The event is run by more than 300 volunteers on 90 committees, and some volunteers travel from as far away as Australia to help coordinate the event. In total, the World Ice Art Championships each year.
[Pictured: "Attacking Claws" Ice Sculpture, 2010 World Ice Art Championships March 9, 2010.]
JIM WATSON/AFP // Getty Images
An ice slide in Maryland
Gaylord National's ICE! Exhibit at the National Harbor in Maryland showcases a different themed winter wonderland every year that features The sculptures are created by 40 ice artists from Harbin, China, and are kept in chilly 9-degree Fahrenheit temperatures. The attraction also has four two-story-tall ice slides and a nativity scene carved out of clear ice.
[Pictured: A child slides down the 20-foot ice slide at Gaylord National's ICE! exhibit, a 15,000-square foot winter wonderland created from 2 million pounds of ice, at National Harbor in Fort Washington, Md., Dec. 18, 2009.]
Michael T Hartman // Shutterstock
Dragon ice sculpture in Cleveland, Ohio
This dragon ice sculpture was an attraction at the 2019 Medina Ice Festival, which was the 25th anniversary of the event. The festival took place over President's Day Weekend and featured a fire and ice tower, and individual and team competitions. With Medina being just 30 miles from Cleveland, the festival remains a fun day trip for urban families and a local celebration for people who live in town.
[Pictured: Dragon ice sculpture at the 25th Annual Medina Ice Carving Festival at Brite Winter Festival on the Flats, Cleveland, Ohio, in February 2019.]
Ganeshkumar Durai // Shutterstock.
Frogs on a clock snow sculpture in Breckenridge, Colorado
The International Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge, Colorado, are made even more impressive with the rules imposed on competitors: . Instead, 16 teams are tasked with hand-carving 20-ton blocks of snow over just five days. A depiction of frogs on a clock was among the 2018 sculptures. Those who visit the festival can also vote for their favorite sculpture team to win the People's Choice Award.
[Pictured: Time Snow Sculpture Competition by Team Mongolia at the International Snow Sculpting Championships in Breckenridge on Jan. 28, 2018.]
Lorie Shaull // Flickr
'Ascension' at the Minnesota State Snow Sculpting Competition
At the three-day Minnesota State Snow Sculpting Competition, teams made up of three members each are provided with and instructed to carve away, so long as they only use hand tools. The winning team is awarded $1,000 and advances to represent Minnesota at the U.S. National Snow Sculpting Competition in Wisconsin. Those planning to visit the festival should be sure to attend early on—organizers knock down sculptures if they become unstable. A sculpture titled "Ascension" by Dusty Thune won the competition in 2018.
[Pictured: "Ascension" by House of Thune, Minnesota State Snow Sculpting Competition on Jan. 29, 2019.]
Fred Mueller // Shutterstock
Ice Palace in Saranac Lake, New York
The big draw at Saranac Lake Winter Carnival in New York is the Ice Palace, which has been built almost every year at the festival since 1898. Early on, ice harvesters were contracted out to build the Ice Palace, but volunteers since the 1960s.
[Pictured: Ice Castle at the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, New York.]
DON EMMERT/AFP // Getty Images
Reindeer ice sculpture at the Bronx Zoo
The Wildlife Conservation Society hosts the Salute to Wildlife Ice Carving Week every year at the Bronx Zoo to pay tribute to —an area that covers Russia, Alaska, and northwest Canada. The ice carvings raise awareness about conservation efforts the Wildlife Conservation Society conducts in the region and are judged by popular vote in a variety of different categories. This ice carving of a reindeer was on display during the conservation society's event in 2013.
HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/AFP // Getty Images
Ice sculpture of wild foals in Helsinki, Finland
Mongolian artist Bazarsad Bayarsaikhan was at the 2014 Art Meets Ice ice sculpting festival at the Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki, Finland, for his sculpture of wild foals playing. The theme of the Art Meets Ice festival that year was the celebration of animals to commemorate the zoo's 125th anniversary.
OLIVIER MORIN/AFP // Getty Images
Winter ice sculptures in Rovaniemi, Finland
Rovaniemi, Finland, is , which embraces its location in the Arctic Circle and even features an ice bar and ice restaurant. Ice and snow sculptures dot both venues, and guests at the ice bar can sip on cocktails from ice glasses or browse the ice art gallery. Lunch at the ice restaurant includes "winter zone" activities, like ice skating and snow tubing.
[Pictured: A girl walks among ice sculptures in Rovaniemi on Dec. 16, 2008.]
OLIVIER MORIN/AFP // Getty Images
Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden
The Icehotel is an art project/hotel that has been ongoing since 1989 and is created anew each winter with ice from the Torne River. Icehotel claims to be the , as well as the largest. The hotel is open from December to April and offers 15 suites with hand-carved sculptures created by artists from around the world.
[Pictured: A bride and her mother enter the chapel of the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjaervi on Jan. 9, 2009.]
OLIVIER MORIN/AFP // Getty Images
Ice chapel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden
The ice chapel in the Icehotel in Sweden hosts about 150 weddings each year. Each year, artists handpicked by the Icehotel are responsible for creating the chapel which . The Icehotel even has an in-house wedding coordinator for those interested in saying "I do" in the frozen chapel.
[Pictured: A Swedish couple pose in the chapel of the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjaervi on Jan. 9, 2009 after getting married.]
JOHN HUGUES/AFP // Getty Images
Harp made out of ice in Geilo, Norway
Geilo, Norway, is the host of the , where musicians travel from far and wide to play instruments constructed from ice in a hollowed-out ice cave. Most instruments at the festival start out as 600-pound ice blocks cut from a nearby frozen lake, and in 2009 featured a harp. Via chainsaws, the blocks eventually are carved into guitars, horns, and harps. The festival occurs each winter during the first full moon of the year.
[Pictured: Norway's harp player Sidsel Walstad performs with her instrument built of ice on Jan. 10, 2009.]
Dean Mouhtaropoulos // Getty Images
Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel in Finnmark, Norway
The Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel in Finnmark, Norway, holds the title of the northernmost ice hotel in the world and has been re-built entirely from snow and ice every year since 1999. Although the igloo hotel started with just six rooms, it now has 26 rooms, four decorated suites, an ice chapel, and an ice bar. The hotel is made of and is constructed by local artists and workers who address a different theme each year.
[Pictured: A general view of the Sorrisniva Igloo or Ice Hotel near Alta on March 30, 2017 in Finnmark, Norway.]
Katiekk // Shutterstock
Frozen ice slide in Khuvsgul, Mongolia
The Ice Festival of Mongolia takes place on the frozen Lake Khovsgol, the largest freshwater lake in Mongolia. In the winter, the entire lake freezes up to six feet deep and temperatures drop to -31 degrees Fahrenheit, making the venue the perfect natural place for a celebration of snow and ice. The two-day event has been , a group of nomadic reindeer herders.
[Pictured: People slide down a frozen slide on Lake Khovsgol, Hatal, Mongolia on March 4, 2018.]
Kiyoshi Ota // Getty Images
Miniature Kamakura, or snow huts, in Akita, Japan
The Yokote Kamakura Snow Festival in the Akita prefecture of Japan is world famous for its seemingly endless collection of snow domes, or Kamakura, a in northern Japan. Yokote City has been celebrating the snow festival for over 450 years, and its festival is the largest one in the country featuring Kamakura. In some larger Kamakura, festival-goers can eat traditional Japanese winter food, like mochi and warm sake inside the huts.
[Pictured: A visitor takes pictures of the candlelit miniature Kamakura, or snow huts, during the Yokote Kamakura Snow Festival on Feb. 15, 2010 in Yokote, Akita, Japan.]
KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP // Getty Images
Illuminated snow sculptures in Chitose, Japan
The Chitose and Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival is held in the Lake Shikotsu hot springs in Shikotsu-Toya National Park in Japan. The abstract snow sculptures on display at the festival are made by on the snow and freezing it. Visitors also may enjoy an ice slide and an ice rink at the festival and warm up at the hot springs.
[Pictured: People visit the Chitose-Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival in Chitose, Japan on Jan. 24, 2014.]
TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP // Getty Images
'Dragon Castle, the world's largest snow sculpture
The Asahikawa Winter Festival in the City of Asahikawa in Japan boasts some of the world's largest snow sculptures, including a dragon castle in 2004. Each year at the festival, is created to serve as a stage for performances and has a different theme each year. Often, these sculptures surpass records—a 1994 sculpture of a Korean fortress found itself in the Guinness World Records book.
[Pictured: "Dragon Castle," at the Asahikawa Winter Festival in February 2004.]
KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP // Getty Images
Snow sculptures in Sapporo, Japan
The Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan presents 1.5 kilometers of giant snow and ice sculptures in Odori Park. The when local high school students created and sculpted six snow statues, attracting about 50,000 visitors. The upcoming festival's theme is "Enjoy the Ice," and will feature an area called "Fureai Hiroba" where visitors can touch and interact with the ice sculptures.
[Pictured: Snow sculptures are lit up during the 66th annual Sapporo Snow Festival on Feb. 5, 2015.]
KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP // Getty Images
Snow sculpture of Yuzuru Hanyu, Japanese figure skater
Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu was immortalized in snow during the 2015 Sapporo Snow Festival. A year prior, Hanyu competed in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and was a breakout star, surpassing every world record in his event. At the 2014 men's figure skating competition, his routine earned him a score of 101.45, making him the .
[Pictured: Snow sculpture of Japan's figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu during the 66th annual Sapporo Snow Festival on Feb. 5, 2015.]
TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP // Getty Images
Tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula in Sapporo, Japan
At the 2014 Sapporo Snow Festival, sculptors recreated the Tomb of Itmad-ud Daula, which was built in the 1620s in the city of Agra, India. In 2014, the festival displayed and drew about 2 million visitors to Odori Park to view the frozen creations.
[Pictured: An animation is projected onto a large snow sculpture of "Tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula", India, during the 65th annual Sapporo Snow Festival in February 2014.]
Lintao Zhang // Getty Images
117-meter long sculpture at the Harbin Festival
The theme of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival changes every year, but the 2014 theme was, "Global Ice and Snow Dream, World Cartoon Tour." As part of the festival, visitors could browse the Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Expo in Sun Island Park, where the sculpture was located. The 2014 festival began , in which 500 daring swimmers braved the cold and dove headfirst into pools carved into the ice.
[Pictured: Tourists visit a large snow sculpture with the 117-meter-long and 26-meter-high at the Harbin International Snow Sculpture Art Expo on Jan. 6, 2014 in Harbin, China.]
GREG BAKER/AFP // Getty Images
Giant snow sculpture at the Harbin Festival
Ice for the intricate frozen sculptures at the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival comes straight from the frozen Songhua River, where workers carve out hundreds of ice blocks for artists to use. In 2018, laborers of ice to the festival site. The ice blocks each weighed up to 1,545 pounds.
[Pictured: A worker walks past a snow sculpture at the annual Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in January 2018.]
FRED DUFOUR/AFP // Getty Images
Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival history
The history of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival when tourists started traveling to Harbin to see the town's ice lanterns and take part in winter activities, such as skiing and sledding. In 1983, government officials suggested that the town establish a winter festival, and the first official Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival took place in 1985 at Zhaolin Park.
[Pictured: An aerial view shows ice sculptures during the annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, January 2019.]
FRED DUFOUR/AFP // Getty Images
Guinness World Records takes note at the Harbin Festival
As one of the world's largest ice and snow festivals, sculptures at the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival often break world records. In 2007, a two-part sculpture of Niagara Falls and the Crossing of the Bering Strait was chosen for the Guinness World Records compilation for the at 250 meters long and 8.5 meters high.
[Pictured: A woman looks at ice sculptures while visiting the Zhaolin Park on Jan. 6, 2015.]
FRED DUFOUR/AFP // Getty Images
Ice snowmen at the Harbin Festival
To celebrate the new year in 2019 at the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, of all shapes and sizes were constructed on the frozen river. Entrance to the festival cost $48, but there were many free attractions around Harbin for the duration of the month-long festival, including the 2,019 snowmen.
[Pictured: Visitors look at ice sculptures during the annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in January 2019.]
