Each year, the Ice Hotel pops up within its borders. More than 4,000 tons of ice were mined from the Torne River to create this year's Ice Hotel, which took about two months to build.
Officially opened December 11, the hotel has 19 hand-carved "art suites," each with a unique theme crafted by a different sculptor.
There's also an ice bar, an ice church, a main hall with five crystal chandeliers, and sculptures on the hotel grounds outside.
If you're going to see it, go now — it'll be gone by March. Though other ice hotels have popped up around the world, this is the original.
A 10-foot ice sculpture of an African elephant dominates a suite called "The Elephant in the Room," by Anna Sofia Maag.
"Live Your Time," a room sculpture by Jose Carlos Cabello Millan and Javier Alvaro Colomino Matassa, draws on the concept of time.
Rob Harding and Timsam Harding, a father-son sculpting duo from Spain, put a Mediterranean-inspired spin on cold-weather living, calling their creation "Under the Arctic Skin."
Anna Katrin Kraus and Hans Aescht teamed up to create the "Flying Buttress" room. The goal was to cover the room in a forest of Gothic ice pillars, making the room appear like an "intimate ice cave," according to the Ice Hotel web site.
The room "Cesare's Wake," by Petros Dermatas and Ellie Souti, has distorted windows and surrealist shapes that were inspired by the German cult horror film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari."
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The harsh edges of this room were inspired by ice's cousin, crystal, and the sparkling characteristics they share. Designed by Nicolas Triboulot and Cedric Alizard, the room was dubbed "Eye Suite."
Anja Kilian and Wolfgang A. Luchow have created the "Fractus" suite — a room inspired by physics, with sharp and angular edges.
Another animal-themed room, "Show Me What You Got" by Tjasa Gusfors and David Andren, has an intricate peacock sculpture.
"The Power of Love" room uses steam punk styling by Sebastian Scheller and Kristina Moc kel to "capture the energy in the room and transform it to visions and fantasies."
The "Love Capsule" room by Luc Voi sin and Mathieu Brison captures the groovy energy of the '70s.
