Imagine a building, grand and stoic, standing for over a century. Now, picture that entire building, all 672 tons of it, slowly rolling across the land. That’s exactly what’s happening in Kiruna, a town far up north in Sweden. A beautiful 113-year-old red wooden church is being moved five kilometers away from its original spot.
The reason for this incredible feat of engineering is deep underground. Kiruna sits atop Europe’s largest iron ore mine. Years of digging beneath the town have made the ground unstable. Cracks are appearing, threatening the very foundations of the old city. So, the church, a cherished landmark, had to find a new home.
This isn’t a quick trip. The church, built in 1912, is sitting on a giant sled. It moves at a snail’s pace, about 500 meters an hour. Experts expect the journey to take a full two days before it reaches its new place in the town’s fresh center.
The church’s move is a big deal, but it’s just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Kiruna itself, located 145 kilometers above the Arctic Circle, is slowly relocating. The entire town is moving to a new site to escape the expanding mine. Over the years, other important structures have already been moved or rebuilt. Historic wooden houses in the Hjalmar Lundbohmsgården area, for example, have found new addresses. Even the old city hall’s bell tower was moved to stand proudly near the new city hall.
The company running the iron ore mine, LKAB, is footing the bill for this massive relocation effort. It’s a staggering cost, estimated at over 10 billion Swedish Kronor, which is about 33.95 billion Thai Baht. They are paying to literally lift and shift a town.
Moving the Kiruna church is quite a challenge. It stands 35 meters tall and 40 meters wide. Before 1950, people even voted it Sweden’s most beautiful building. Moving it whole, instead of taking it apart piece by piece, requires special reinforced steel beams and unique transport vehicles.
Preparing the path for this giant move was no small task either. Roads had to be widened to 24 meters across. Power poles, traffic lights, and even some bridges had to be temporarily removed or relocated. Inside the church, precious items like altar paintings by Prince Eugen and a massive organ with over 1,000 pipes could not be taken out. They had to be protected during the bumpy ride.
For the people of Kiruna, this move is much more than just an amazing construction project. Sofia Lagerlöf Maatta, a cultural advisor for the town, shared her feelings. She said, “This church has been a spiritual heart and a meeting place for generations. Moving it brings back all sorts of memories, happy and sad. We are literally carrying those memories into the future.” Lena Törnberg, the priest for the Kiruna church, echoed these thoughts. She admitted, “The church is leaving the spot where it always belonged. But everyone understands it has to move. We live in a mining community, and we depend on this mine.” She added, “I’m thankful we’re moving it to the new town center. Still, it feels sad to see it leave the ground where it was first built.”
Thousands of people, including Sweden’s King Carl Gustaf, gathered to watch this historic event. Swedish television even broadcast the entire journey live. This grand undertaking shows how history can be preserved and carried forward, even as the world around it changes.
Source: BBC