Gallery: How to build a Swedish ice hotel

In time for ICEHOTEL's 23rd opening on Friday, the photo gallery above shows how a hotel is redesigned and rebuilt each year in the village of Jukkasjärvi in Sweden.

Made entirely of snow and ice, ICEHOTEL's raw materials come from the nearby Torne River. Construction starts in November, when the temperature drops several degrees below freezing. 

Once the hotel opens, thousands of visitors come for the unusual experience of drinking at ICEBAR, sleeping on reindeer skin on blocks of ice and maybe even getting married in the Ice church.

Check out the gallery for the intriguing construction process. 

ICEHOTEL, Marknadsvägen 63 981 91 Jukkasjärvi, Sweden; +46 0980 668 00; rooms start at 1,495 SEK (US$227) with double occupancy, www.icehotel.com

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