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When was the first Icehotel?

Icehotel – The original since 1989 Life Enriching Moments – a hotel and art exhibition made of ice from the river Torne, each year reincarnated in a brand new design.



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Every year when the winter comes, the pristine waters the meandering of Torne River slow down and freeze into ice. On one chilly day in 1989, the first ever Icehotel was hand-sculpted out of these massive ice blocks harvested from this very river running alongside.

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Yngve Bergqvist, entrepreneur and founder of Icehotel, arrived at Jukkasjärvi for the first time in the mid-1970s. At that time it was the long spring-winters, which offered perfect surface for skiing that attracted him.

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Every year, when Torne River turns to ice, a new Icehotel is created in the small village of Jukkasjärvi in the north of Sweden. The ice of the river transforms to design and architecture - an ephemeral art project and the world's first, and largest hotel built of snow and ice.

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Jukkasjärvi, Sweden The most famous hotel made from ice first opened its doors in 1989. ICEHOTEL is situated on the banks of the Torne River in Swedish Lapland and is celebrated for its incredible art installations.

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The Environmental Cycle Every year, we borrow ice from the river to build a new, seasonal hotel of ice and snow, which eventually melts and returns back to its origin come spring.

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An ice hotel is a temporary hotel made up of snow and sculpted blocks of ice. Ice hotels, dependent on sub-freezing temperatures, are constructed from ice and snow and typically have to be rebuilt every year.

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These hotels are protected from the outside climate and feature ice-sculpture interiors and amazing lighting. The temperature is freezing inside, so bring thermal underwear. Better yet, warm up in the next-door sauna. Meet the only luxury accommodation in Antarctica.

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The ice structure stops heat being transferred to the surroundings, because the ice and the windless air are both excellent insulators. The buildings depend on sub-freezing temperatures and usually melt in summer, rebuilt again from fresh ice every year.

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They're not intended to be permanent. Most ice hotels are only open for a few months — December-January through March-April, depending on their location.

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The classic ICEHOTEL is built every year from scratch featuring new artists and new room designs which melt back to the Torne river every year. ICEHOTEL 365 is a permanent structure which allows guests to stay in cold art rooms all year, the rooms are redesigned and rebuilt on rotation every 6 months.

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The Igloo Hotel in Alta is the world's northernmost and the first ever ice hotel in Norway. Just like the Ice Domes, it is rebuilt every winter with different themes and artwork. The structure of the hotel and all the sculptures are made by professional artists using natural snow and ice.

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There are actually three ice bars at the Hotel de Glace. Each room has intricate and unique carvings. There's one working fireplace – don't worry, it's installed so the building won't melt. The other fireplaces you'll see around the Ice Hotel are purely decorative.

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