Ice Sculpture Gallery (Moscow)

Situated in Krasnaya Presnya in downtown Moscow, the Ice Sculpture Gallery is a first in the art world in that it remains open all year round in a temperature controlled environment of a chilly -10 degrees Celsius. This wintery exhibition space covers over 500 square metres and exhibits are enhanced with an accompanying light and music show. On cheap city breaks in Moscow, you will see a wide range of sculpture depicting important cultural figures in Russian life, characters from famous Russian fables and literary history and lots of weird and wonderful beasts that will delight the little ones.

 

Much of the interior gallery is also constructed of ice where visitors can sit on ice furniture and admire the exhibits while warming themselves with a shot of vodka from a glass made of ice, naturally. If this all sounds like being a chilly experience then you would be right. Thankfully, special thermal coats are given to all visitors to keep warm and a maximum of just 10 people at a time are allowed access to view the sculptures to prevent excessive body heat in the gallery. It is the ideal place to come on summer city breaks in Moscow to cool down from the heat.

 

The subtle lighting and reflections of the ice give a dreamlike quality to the sculptures which seems to contrast from every different angle. It makes for some wonderful photo opportunities and is one of the world’s few galleries where still and video photography is actually encouraged. There is also a workshop space where visitors can learn about the history of ice carving and see ice sculpting in action. On weekend breaks in Moscow here, you can also try their hand a carving a frozen masterpiece yourself.