BEGINNING in February, the Snežný Hrad Raj / Snow-Castle Paradise in the Slovenský raj / Slovak Paradise mountain range became the biggest snow-made construction in Slovakia, making it into the Book of Slovak Records. Almost 20 people spent three weeks building it – in Gugle, part of Mlynky, a municipality in eastern Slovakia.
The outer walls of the snow castle were more than 200 metres long, the bastion 25 metres high, and the estimated volume of snow about 1,750 cubic metres, the organisers wrote. Close to the Snow-Castle Paradise was an Ice Castle, with three ice walls and three ice towers. It lies on three terraces with a total area of 200 square metres, with a height of about 50 metres and a continual ice wall over 12 metres long.
Igor Svétok from the Book of Slovak Records confirmed for the TASR newswire that the work was unique; he recalled a smaller construction which stood in the same place last year and which also made it into the record book. Snow-Castle Paradise had a special programme of events, including ice-climbing and a fire show.