This Article is From Dec 29, 2010

Annual ice festival in Germany

Annual ice festival in Germany
Roevershagen: An enchanted forest, reindeers, flying swans, and even a fake fire made of ice are impressing crowds at an ice sculpting festival in Roevershagen, northern Germany.

The festival, which has been held for the past eight years, opened on Christmas day.

Twelve artists from Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Germany created the ice sculptures within two weeks.

About 160 tons of ice were needed to carve the sculptures, which will be on display until February 28th next year.

The exhibition is kept at a constant temperature of minus eight degrees celsius (17.6 degrees fahrenheit) to maintain the fragile art's most minute details.

The festival's art director Othmar Schiffer-Belz said the biggest challenge for the artists, apart from recreating their designs accurately in ice, was working in the freezing temperatures.

However, visitors to the festival were enjoying the icy art.

"We have seen ice sculpture exhibitions before but this here is our favourite," said Ottfried Weiss, a visitor from Dresden.
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