A unique wintry art museum

Have you heard of the Snow Sculpture Festival?

Sculptures, figures, shapes, and forms line the streets of St. Vigil and Innichen, transforming the villages for a few magical weeks.

This isn’t your ordinary art exhibit. It’s the Snow Sculpture Festival, held each January. With barbed wire, saws, and shovels, thirty artists from around the globe transform three-metre-high snow blocks into art – all while kitted out in wellies, earmuffs, and gloves. Fresh natural snow is compressed into uniform cubes and set up in various spots around the villages. From there, creativity knows no bounds – the only rule is to make it unique! Best of all, the artists create these masterpieces without waste: they use only water, which freezes in the cold winter air, adding some seriously spectacular effects. They have just three days to complete their works, which will then be admired and judged by locals and visitors alike.
Thinking of making a visit to the Snow Sculpture Festival? Catch the artists in action from 15 to 17 January 2025 in St. Vigil, or stop by Innichen from 20 to 22 January 2025 for the second half of the event. You can also admire the sculptures at night when they are illuminated until they eventually melt in spring’s warm sunshine.
If your kids are keen to try their hand at crafting with natural materials, they can join in the fun with the Nature Programme by Familienhotels Südtirol. This winter’s theme, “NatureArt – Ella and Max on the Artists’ Trail”, includes hands-on activities focused on creating art from snow, ice, and other natural materials.