Abstract: A nuclear reactor cooled by a freezable liquid has a vessel for containing said liquid and comprising a structure shaped as a container, and cooling means in the region of the surface of said structure for effecting freezing of said liquid coolant at and for a finite distance from said surface for providing a layer of frozen coolant on and supported by said surface for containing said liquid coolant. In a specific example, where the reactor is sodium-cooled, the said structure is a metal-lined concrete vault, cooling is effected by closed cooling loops containing NaK, the loops extending over the lined surface of the concrete vault with outward and reverse pipe runs of each loop separated by thermal insulation, and air is flowed through cooling pipes embedded in the concrete behind the metal lining.