Eispavillon Mittelallalin

Ice Pavilion Mittelallalin - Eispavillon Saas-Fee

Useful Information

Location:	On the Mittelallalin. Near Saas-Fee. (46.057467, 7.904853)
Open:	closed. [2024]
Fee:	closed. [2024]
Classification:	glacier grotto
Light:	electric and natural.
Dimension:	A=3,500 m asl, Ar=5,500 m².
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	not wheelchair accessible
Bibliography:
Address:	Eispavillon, 3906 Saas-Fee, Tel +41-27-9573560 E-mail: Saastal Bergbahnen AG, Panoramastrasse 5, CH-3906 Saas-Fee, Tel. +41-27-958-1100. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

2024	Eispavillon closed.

Description

The Eispavillon no longer exists, it was closed in 2024 for safety reasons. Given the current retreat of the glaciers, this is by no means unusual. However, the operators had probably not anticipated that it would happen so quickly, they had carried out extensive renovations on the ice grotto the year before. There is now a new site which is considered a replacement, named VirtuAllalin. This virtual reality experience allows visitors to see the inside of the Allalin Glacier interactively.

The Eispavillon is the biggest artificial ice cave of the world, built inside the Fee glacier by glaciologist Benedikt Schnyder. It is located on the Mittelallalin, below the funicular station and the revolving restaurant Allalin. A 71 m long tunnel with 120 steps leads down into the glacier, 10 m below the surface. The grotto has numerous names, it is als called Eisgrotte Allalin and there are combinations of those terms. The glacier into which it was dug is called Allalingletscher (Allalin glacier).

As this ice grotto was made by a glaciologist, it is a little different to the other ones. Of course, it shows ice sculptures and the mysterious blue light when sunlight is filtered by meters of ice. But it also shows the scientific background of glaciers, how they were formed and how they are explored. Some real life scenes show glaciologist in a camp and at work. The knowledge they are after, is the climatic history of our planet Earth.

Then the importance and dangers of glaciers for mountaineering are explained. Another display in a natural crevasse of the glacier, called Bergschrund, shows how a mountaineer is rescued after an accident. There are several lookouts allowing a visit of a real ice crevasse.

And another difference to other ice grottoes are the numerous modern art sculptures on display. Huge faces, the head of a pharaoh, pinguins, the snow man and Saint Bernhard of Aosta are cut out of the ice. Most of them are in the Glaciarium, a huge circular shaped room which is used for meditation and for weddings.

Even the children will like it, as they have their own underground playing ground. The Dinosaur Tunnel offers a frozen playground including ice slides.