IRINA TRAVELING - Official Web Site - ANNUAL ICE SCULPTURES FESTIVAL IN SAINT PETERSBURG

Every winter, in February, in St. Petersburg, the annual Ice Fantasy Festival of Ice Sculptures is held. The best masters from different countries demonstrate their skills on a given theme. The sculptures are exhibited in a special tent on the beach of the Peter and Paul Fortress, where the temperature is below zero. .Slim as lace. Ice is decorated with multi-colored lighting and the air is filled with magic.

By the way, it was St. Petersburg that became the birthplace of the first ice sculpture. In 1740, between the Hermitage and the Admiralty, right in the middle of the ice-covered Neva River, the Ice Palace was erected, at the behest of Empress Anna Ioannovna, famous for her extravagant disposition and love of all kinds of fun, for a wedding her court jesters. In the palace, built of chunks of ice decorated with carvings, all furniture and objects, including flowers and playing cards, were made of ice. An ice elephant stood at the entrance with an ice driver, ice dolphins spewed fireworks, and ice cannons fired ice cannonballs. Oil-smeared ice firewood burned in the bedroom fireplace. Two sea monsters stood at the sides of the gate. During the day, water from the Neva gushed from their mouths, and at night – streams of burning oil. The ice elephant did the same, from time to time “trumpeting” with the help of a trumpeter hiding inside him. Ice statues, vases of flowers, trees with birds on their branches. On both sides of the Ice House there were guardrooms (guard rooms), in which a man turned a paper lantern with “funny figures” painted on its edges. The winter of 1739–1740 was extremely cold. The frosts of 30 degrees lasted until spring, and the Ice House entertained everyone for a long time, only the sentries kept order.

In February 2006, on the Palace Square, an exact copy of the Ice Palace was recreated. 13 craftsmen worked on it for three weeks. The ice complex consisted of a palace, a bathhouse, elephants and other compositions. The height of the palace is about six meters, and the total area – about one hundred square meters. His rooms were equipped with furniture – tables, chairs, beds, mirrors, dishes – everything was made of ice. The palace stood until mid-March.

In 2020, about 60 sculptures were created, which took about 170 tons of ice. The theme of the Festival this year was animals, there are also heroes of Russian fairy tales and modern cartoons. The best ice craftsmen in Russia and in the world take part in the work on the festival’s exposition every year. – prize-winners and winners of various international competitions held in Belgium, France, Germany, China and other countries.

Life-size ice giraffes, deer, snow leopard, terrifying tarantula, adorable Petersburg cats, as well as the underwater kingdom and the crystal castle of the Little Mermaid, which became the festival’s tallest sculpture, all illuminated with all the colors of the rainbow and create a magical atmosphere. characters of the year, little mice and get a prize. Also, all those who come are greeted by costumed heroes led by the Mouse King, and funny huskies are waiting for a photo session.