Ice‑Sculpted Sanctuary
Picture this: a young nun takes a deep breath while staring at an angelic statue shimmering under the glow of a church’s soft light. As she exhales, you can actually see her breath—metaphor or literal, who can say?
Building a Cold Church
Forget bricks or mortar. Nestled high above the frosty slopes of Slovakia’s High Tatras, this winter wonderland is a giant crystal‑clear ice box that doubles as a church.
At 1,285 metres (4,200 feet) above sea level, the icy replica of Saint Peter’s Basilica from Rome sits higher than any of Slovakia’s 4,158 churches—over half of them Roman Catholic. That’s some lofty geography.
Is It a Church ?
It hasn’t been officially consecrated, but Zlatica Janakova from southern Slovakia swears by its spiritual vibes:
- “It’s so good for your soul; it feels like a chill retreat.”
- “All of nature is inside and around this temple.”
Englishman Martin (surname withheld) echoes this sentiment:
- “A beautiful, so peaceful place.”
Year After Year of Ice
Since 2013, the small village of Hrebienok has become a metropolitan ice hub. Every winter, ice sculptors from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Wales, and the United States converge to build a Tatra Ice Temple—think mini‑church but in crystal.
Last year’s highlight? An 11‑metre (36‑foot) version of the 16th‑century Vatican basilica with Bernini’s proud half‑circle wings. Even the famed Sagrada Familia of Barcelona found a chilly counterpart.
Tourist Fun
It’s a haunted attraction for over a quarter‑million tourists who hopped on a short funicular ride to meet the ice‑topped Sagrada Familia.
The Workers Behind the Chill
We’re talking 16 talented sculptors who planted 12‑hour, month‑long sessions of hard work to make this year’s masterpiece a matte reality.
A tourist visits a Tatra Ice Temple at Hrebienok, High Tatras mountains resort in eastern Slovakia on February 27, 2019. Photo: AFP
On Sundays, the venue vibrates with the sounds of sacred music concerts.
“I’m glad to see people crossing themselves and praying inside,” says Slovak chief sculptor Adam Bakos.
The interior boasts sculptures modelled on the works of Italian masters side-by-side with those of chamois, marmots and other wildlife native to the High Tatras.
“I gave them a free hand with the decoration, so each artist added their signature style to the sculptures,” Bakos said.
Slovak-Greek artist Achilleas Sdoukos designed and produced stained-glass decorations incorporated into the temple’s icy walls.
The building material, namely 1,880 ice blocks weighing a total of 225 tonnes, was imported from neighbouring Poland.
“We tried different suppliers, from the Netherlands, England, Norway and Hungary, but Polish ice seemed to have the highest quality, it really looks like glass if kept cold enough,” says Rastislav Kromka, technical director of the Tatra Ice Temple.
CHALLENGING
With an unusually warm winter threatening to melt details on their sculpture, Bakos and his team covered it with a geodesic dome, measuring 25 metres in diameter.
They also installed refrigeration units to ensure a bone-chilling minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) to keep the ice solid.
“Cold wind was blowing in our faces from the AC (air conditioning) all day long.
“It was like a chopper ride in January.
“Once we were done, I didn’t even want to open the freezer at home anymore,” he jokes.
More than 15 carpenters helped sculptors with the demanding task of stacking the ice blocks, each weighing 125 kilogrammes (275 pounds).
“It took us more time to stack the blocks than to carve them,” Bakos said.
Tourists sledge in front of Tatra Ice Temples at Hrebienok, High Tatras mountains resort in eastern Slovakia on February 27, 2019.Photo: AFP
“Ice is also an extremely fragile material, you must be very gentle with it or details tend to fall off. We used only water to glue the pieces together,” he said.
COOL WEDDING
Visiting the ice temple is free. It is funded by the Tatra tourism organisation, the transport and construction ministry and other partners.
Only cold air and water are used to maintain the ice church.
“It is not only that visitors touch the walls of the temple, they also breathe out warm air and come in sipping hot tea,” Kromka said.
When winter is over, the ice structure is smashed to pieces, the cooling system switched off and the ice carried outside to melt on the ground.
A picture taken of February 27, 2019 shows an interior of the Tatra Ice Temple in Hrebienok, High Tatras mountains resort in eastern Slovakia.Photo: AFP
Open annually from November until late April, the ice temple is also becoming a hotspot for destination weddings.
“Here… we are perhaps the closest to our spiritual selves and our respective religions,” says Veronika Littvova, head of tourism for the High Tatra region, much of which is pristine and protected national parkland.
She is also convinced that ice temple weddings lead to long, lucky unions.
“Thanks to that huge amount of ice, I believe that marriages entered into here will be preserved and last forever.”
Festivals/CelebrationsTourist attractionsSlovakia
