Historic Church – All 672 Tons – Is Being Moved Down the Road in Arctic Town

In a “unique in the world” event, a Swedish town is moving its entire historic church, all 672 tons of materials, down the road to a new address.

The move is necessary to protect it from falling into a sinkhole, the result of the expansion of an underground iron mine. The church won’t be alone in its relocation, and in fact dozens of buildings will be moved over the next 10 years.

Kiruna Kyrka was built in 1912 for the Lutheran community of Kiruna. It was designed to look like a “lavvu” or a hut of the Sami People, Europe’s only recognized indigenous group who graze reindeer in the surrounding grasslands.

The state-owned mining company LKAB was granted approval for the mine’s expansion over 20 years ago, and part of the agreement was either the compensation or physical relocation of eve