Snow Village (Kirovsk)

The Snow Village is a seasonal visitor centre built of snow and ice at the foot of Mount Vudyavrchorr in the Khibiny Mountains, a few minutes' drive from Kirovsk in the Murmansk Region. It is an indoor park of ice and snow sculptures: a maze of about twenty halls rebuilt every winter around a new theme.

History

The project started in 2008, the idea of Kirovsk native Vladimir Komyagin, who is described as its inspiration and chief snow craftsman. The first building was small, just five rooms conceived as an ice hotel. It grew season by season, and one winter it even housed an ice wedding registry office.

In 2011 the village hosted the first Snegoled snow and ice sculpture festival, which has been held every year since. Later the Snow Village entered the Russian Book of Records as the largest enclosed single structure made of snow, with an area of 2,014 square metres.

The theme never repeats. Over the years the halls have been devoted to the Sochi Winter Olympics, a "time machine", the 80th anniversary of the Soyuzmultfilm animation studio, snow itself (for the tenth, jubilee village) and music.

What to see

Inside there are around 20 halls covering 2,000 to 2,500 square metres. The vaults and walls are made of snow and carved with reliefs, and ice sculptures by carvers from different cities stand between them. Each hall tells its own story, with its own music and lighting, and QR codes by the displays explain the scene. You can wander freely from hall to hall; a full visit usually takes about 40 minutes.

Outdoor sculptures in front of the entrance can be seen for free. The grounds also have a warm café with a view of the Khibiny, a souvenir shop, tubing slopes and a "snow bus", a sledge carriage pulled by a snowcat that takes visitors up into a mountain valley.

At the end of January the Snegoled festival takes place: professional sculptors from Russia and neighbouring countries spend a week turning blocks of snow and ice over three metres tall into compositions, working in front of visitors. A speed ice-carving contest called Mad Saw is part of the same programme.

Getting there

The Snow Village stands next to the Tirvas sanatorium, near the Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden. The easiest way is by car or taxi from Kirovsk, about a seven-minute drive, with parking by the sanatorium.

Good to know

The village is open from late December into spring, usually until early May, while the snow holds; in summer the building melts and is built again from scratch for the next season. Inside it stays at about minus five degrees even in hard frost, but dress warmly anyway. A ticket is needed only for the snow building itself, the grounds are free to walk around, and a ticket does not allow re-entry. Tickets bought early, between autumn and the start of the season, are noticeably cheaper, and there are discounts for children and other groups.