Transported by Giant Trailer: Sweden’s Century-old Kiruna Church Relocated

To move away from mines and prevent threats caused by ground subsidence, Sweden’s most famous wooden church with 113 years of history, the Kiruna Church (Kiruna Church) and its bell tower began on the 19th to relocate along a 5-kilometer route eastward to the new city center.

After two days of relocation, the massive red wooden structure finally arrived at its new site at around 2:30 p.m. local time on the 20th.

Before the move, Pastor Chambery hosted a blessing ceremony for the church’s relocation on the morning of the 19th, and Sweden’s King Carl XVI also attended the event in person.

The relocation plan was organized by Swedish state-owned mining group LKAB, becoming a two-day local event that attracted many visitors. Authorities used remotely controlled, flat giant trailers to slowly drive the church towards the new Kiruna city center at a snail's pace of half a kilometer per hour.

Kiruna Church was built in 1912 and stands 35 meters high, 40 meters wide, and weighs 672 tons. It was once voted Sweden’s most beautiful building before 1950.

After more than a century of iron ore mining, the old town center faces the threat of ground cracks. To further continue mining and prevent the entire city from being swallowed, authorities had already initiated a relocation plan in 2004 to move local buildings to a new city center away from the mines.

Kiruna and its surrounding areas are famous for the Midnight Sun and the Northern Lights, attracting many visitors every year to Sweden’s Lapland region.