Riksgränsen ski resort in the Arctic Circle of northern Sweden will be home to more than 600 asylum seekers over the winter.
The resort, which is located 200km north of the Arctic Circle and is in 24 hour darkness in mid-winter is normally shut up during midwinter and has an unusual ski season, not opening to paying guests until mid-February when daylight returns and then staying open to midsummer in June when it is possible to ski or board under the midnight sun.
The director of Lapland Resorts which runs the centre told Swedish media that they were reacting to the refuge crisis and said that the centre could quite easily be kept warm and snug through the winter. He added that although the refugees would be moved on before the start of the ski season he hoped that some might stay on to work in the centre during the spring season.