How do you move a 110-year-old church? Very carefully and very slowly according to crews in Sweden who are attempting to do just that. It’s part of a massive effort to relocate an entire town, before it’s swallowed up by a nearby mine.

Kiruna

In Kiruna, northern Sweden, the town's renowned Lutheran church is being moved five kilometers to a new location. This effort is part of a 30-year plan to relocate numerous buildings and thousands of residents, prompted by the expansion of a major iron ore mine that has made the ground unstable.

The church, which is over 40 meters wide and weighs more than 700 tons, required significant logistical preparation, including road widening and new intersections. The move has been described as important for the community, preserving a building considered the soul of Kiruna. The church is expected to reopen to the public at its new site at the end of 2026.

Sweden moves entire church across Kiruna city for mine expansion

Tourists have flocked to one of Sweden's northernmost towns to witness an unusual migration. Kiruna's famed Lutheran church has been hoisted up on beams and is now slowly inching five kilometers down the road to a new location. I was worried that it was going to fall apart, but it didn't, so I'm very happy. I didn't know what to expect. I had to see it because it's a weird thing and a big thing. It's not just the church. This is part of a 30-year plan to relocate dozens of buildings and thousands of residents. That's because Kiruna is also home to one of the world's largest iron ore mines and its expansion over the years has put the town in jeopardy. When you are mining, there are cracks in the ground, and the deeper you go, the further the cracks go. So that means that in Kiruna, we have known since 2004, that parts of the city has to be moved because the cracks are going too far. But moving a church that measures 40 meters across and weighs more than 700 tons is no easy feat. Roads had to be widened and new intersections created. Once voted the country's best building built before 1950, the church's vicar believes saving it is important for the community. I said that the church is Kiruna's soul in some way, and in some way it's a safe place. It's a place you can come wherever you are, so it's very important that it's moving. But I think people also feel sad because we have to leave this place. Crews say the first day of the move was a success. Everything was going as we planned. We measure all the time in the church, and we also went in a couple of times and looked in the church, and everything is going very well. It's expected to reach the new location on Wednesday and reopen to the public at the end of 2026. Riley Carlson, Al Jazeera.

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