World Snow Festival 2027 - snow sculptures in Grindelwald and on Männlichen
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From Monday 18 to Sunday 24 January 2027, the World Snow Festival brings sculptors to Grindelwald and to the Männlichen ski area, where teams carve 3 m blocks of snow.
Good to know
When: Monday 18 to Sunday 24 January 2027; finished sculptures on view from Friday 22 January, 12:00
Where: Bärplatz and Eiger+ Nordwandplatz in Grindelwald, and the Männlichen ski area
Format: 10 teams in Grindelwald and 3 on Männlichen, sculptures lit in colour on the evenings of 22 to 24 January
Entry: free
Getting there: the Männlichen cable car leaves 50 m from the hotel
The event
Teams work on 3 m blocks of snow during the week, from 08:00 to 18:00 in the village and from 09:00 to 16:00 on Männlichen. The finished sculptures can be seen from Friday 22 January at 12:00 and may stay into February if the weather allows. The teams judge each other, and the public votes for its favourite.
Plan your stay
Hotel Victoria Lauberhorn is 50 m from the Männlichen cable car, so the sculptures on Männlichen are a short ride away. Back in Wengen, the spa has an indoor pool, an outdoor whirlpool, a sauna and a steam room, and Pasta & More, one of the hotel's restaurants and bars, serves à la carte in the evening. See what else is on this winter in Wengen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the World Snow Festival?
The World Snow Festival is a snow-sculpture competition, running its 42nd edition in 2027 under the motto "Animal worlds". Teams from a dozen nations are handed identical blocks of snow, three and a half metres on each side, and five days to turn them into something. Most teams work in central Grindelwald, while two more carve up in the Männlichen ski area, the mountain Wengen shares with Grindelwald.
When does the festival take place, and when can I watch the carving?
The 2027 festival runs from 18 to 24 January, beginning the day after the Lauberhorn Races end. Carving hours are 08:00 to 18:00 on the Eiger+ Nordwandplatz and the Bärplatz in Grindelwald. On Männlichen the two out-of-competition teams work from 09:00 to 16:00.
Does it cost anything to see the sculptures?
Entry is free; watching costs nothing. From Wengen, the gondola runs straight up to Männlichen, where the sculptures stand near the top station along the trail towards the summit. Grindelwald, where the judged competition takes place, is reached by train over Kleine Scheidegg or round through Lauterbrunnen.
When is the best moment to visit during the week?
It rewards more than one look: a shape that is unreadable on Monday is finished by Friday. Towards the end of the week the finished village sculptures are lit after dark, which is when they look their best. If you are skiing on Männlichen, you can break a morning on the pistes to watch a block of snow turn into an animal, then carry on skiing.
Why is Hotel Victoria Lauberhorn a good base for the festival?
Hotel Victoria Lauberhorn sits beside the station in car-free Wengen, a few minutes from the Männlichen gondola and on the railway line to Grindelwald. The festival follows straight on from the busiest weekend of the Wengen winter, so January rooms go early. After a cold day at the sculptures there is one of the largest spa areas in Wengen, and the hotel restaurants for the evening.