BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Russian ice palace

BBC NEWS / IN PICTURES
Graphics Version BBC Sport Home

Thursday, 9 February 2006, 16:55 GMT

In pictures: Russian ice palace

1 of 6
St Petersburg - for more than 200 years Russia's imperial capital - boasts an ornate ice palace. It is a copy of one built in the city in 1740 for Empress Anna Ioannovna.

Ice palace opening ceremony

2 of 6
The opening ceremony on Wednesday evening was marked with fireworks and "ice cannon".

Elephant ice sculptures

3 of 6
The complex includes elephant sculptures. It was built with more than three tons of ice from nearby lakes.

Ice bricks

4 of 6
Russia's freezing weather is ideal for preserving the sculptures. The bricks are expected to last until early March.

Ice palace visitors

5 of 6
Visitors pay 150 roubles ($5; 4 euros) to see the fairy-tale palace. It will host weddings on St Valentine's Day (14 February), each costing more than 10,000 roubles.

Ice figure

6 of 6
The sculptures are an extra tourist attraction on Palace Square, outside the famous Hermitage - one of the world's finest art galleries.

E-mail this to a friend