Austrians build snow town hall

"Residents of an Austrian community have created a replica of their town hall out of snow and ice.



Volunteers in Arlberg, Austria, carved out the almost full-size replica 2,000 metres above sea level on the side of a mountain.

The 46ft high and 65ft long sculpture took dozens of volunteers under the leadership of sculptor Christoph Strolz hundreds of hours to make.

Skiers in the region can visit the town hall, but instead of red tape only red wine is on offer, in a replica wine cellar built underneath the town hall.

There are also copious amounts of ice wine available as well, the sweet wine served cold and made from grapes only harvested after they are shrivelled to a sixth of their size by the first frost of winter.

The town hall will remain on the mountain until the 5,000 cubic metres of snow and ice have melted."