Sweden Moves Landmark Kiruna Church To New Site

Sweden’s northernmost town has pulled off one of the most remarkable relocation projects in recent memory, as the iconic Kiruna Church was moved three miles east to escape the advancing iron ore mine that threatens to swallow the old city centre. Built between 1909 and 1912, the massive wooden structure, often ranked among Sweden’s most beautiful buildings, was placed on trailers and inched through town at less than 1.5 kilometres an hour, a two-day crawl that drew thousands of spectators and national live coverage.

Roads were widened, a viaduct dismantled, and months of planning funnelled into ensuring the 600-tonne landmark made the trip intact. Locals dubbed it “The Great Church Walk”, watching as the red timber sanctuary and its bell tower rolled into their new setting, where the building will reopen by late 2026. The relocation is part of a much larger saga. Kiruna used to sit on top of the world’s largest underground iron ore mine, and decades of excavation have made the ground unstable.

In 2004, authorities decided the only way forward was to shift the town itself. Around 3,000 homes, schools, a hospital, and civic infrastructure are being rebuilt to the east, which is expected to run until 2035. At a cost of over 500 million kronor, the church move became the centrepiece of this vast urban migration, preserving not just a building but what many call the soul of the community.

The farewell was bittersweet. Residents packed the final service, with Vicar Lena Tjärnberg describing it as “deeply moving”, while King Carl XVI Gustaf attended the church’s arrival ceremony. Choirs and gospel groups lined the route, turning the operation into a festival atmosphere. Public broadcaster SVT aired the relocation as “slow TV”, transforming an engineering project into a cultural spectacle.