Video: Snow sculptures under Swedish skies: Kiruna festival
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
There is a time for everything, and a time for every thing under the sun. In summer we build sculptures from sand, and in winter we sculpt from snow - although we realize that our creations are destined to have a short life. Looking at the pristine white statues that are created during Snow festival in Kiruna, there is a feeling that they deserve to live forever.
Kiruna is the northernmost town in Sweden; not far from it is Lapland, where Santa Claus lives with his elves and loyal reindeer. Is it any wonder that it is in such a place that a winter celebration is held every year at the end of January? And the tradition began in 1985, when it was decided to celebrate the launch of the Viking rocket from the nearby rocket range of the Science Space Center with such a festival. Esrange.
The festival program includes sledding races with dogs and reindeer, and guests can also see the world's largest igloo. But the most interesting thing is, of course, an exhibition of snow sculptures and a competition between sculptors. Teams of craftsmen taking part in the competition create their works from snow cubes three by three meters.
At this time, the polar sky of Kiruna shines with multicolored flashes of aurora borealis, and illuminates the pristine white sculptures. By the way, molding from snow has its own interesting features in comparison with both sand (snow at a suitable temperature keeps its shape much better) and with ice (an ice sculpture may look more spectacular, but there is much more work with it). However, as elsewhere, everything depends not on the material, but on the talent of the sculptor.
Kiruna hosts the largest snow sculpture festival in Europe (although such events are held not only in this part of the world - take at least the Sapporo Snow Festival). You can visit it from 26 to 30 January - so if you want to feel the frosty wind and the real spirit of the north, you still have time to get ready for the journey.
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