Sweden Rolls Away Church to Expand Underground Mine 

A famous wooden church in Sweden’s northernmost town of Kiruna was relocated this week to make way for the expansion of Europe’s biggest underground mine, France 24 reported. 

Built in 1912, the church is considered one of the country’s most beloved and largest wooden buildings and features designs inspired by the region’s indigenous Sami community on the pews. 

After excavating the area around the 672-ton Lutheran Church, workers inserted large beams beneath it to lift it onto remote-controlled flatbed trailers, which transported it to a new site about three miles down the road.  

The operation, financed by mining company Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB) at an estimated cost of $52 million, is part of a decades-long effort to move much of the Arctic mining town of Kiruna. Consistent mining activities have weakened the ground beneath the historic city center, increasing the risk of collapse in certain areas. 

LKAB said the building has been “thoroughly examined” ahead of the relocation to ensure that its cultural assets, specifically the altarpiece and organ, are protected. 

“The church is Kiruna’s soul in some way, and in some way it’s a safe place,” Lena Tjarnberg, the vicar of Kiruna, told Reuters. 

Thousands of spectators gathered Tuesday and Wednesday in the town to see the church creep along at 0.3 miles per hour on roads that had to be widened to accommodate the structure, Deutsche Welle wrote. 

While the relocation was a success, the Sami community has other fears for the region. Having herded reindeer in the area for thousands of years, they worry that the mine’s further expansion could disrupt traditional migration routes, threatening the reindeer that provide their livelihoods. 

Around 3,000 homes and about 6,000 people will need to move to the new Kiruna as part of the old town’s relocation, according to LKAB. The company offered to compensate everyone affected by the relocation or to rebuild their homes and buildings.