The incredible process of moving the “best building of all time” to a new site three miles away
Preparations have been under way for the past year to get the Kiruna Church ready for a 3-mile trip to a new home lest it be swallowed up by the ground.
Thousands of people gathered in Kiruna, Sweden on Tuesday to watch as the city’s iconic church began a 3-mile journey, that will take 12 hours to complete, to its new home. Preparations to get the church ready started last year but plans for the monumental relocation were initiated in 2004.
The 113-year-old church was a gift from LKAB, the state mining company, which also paid for the extraordinary feat of engineering to lift and then haul the beloved structure voted the “best building of all time, built before 1950” by the Swedish population. The move was necessitated, along with numerous other buildings and residents, after it became evident that there was a risk of Kiruna being swallowed up by the massive underground mine beneath the city located 124 miles above the Artic Circle.
$52 million project to move the Kiruna Church
The process of moving the Kiruna Church wasn’t just a simple matter of lifting it up onto a platform and rolling it across town as was the case with other structures that have so far been moved, 25 prior to the church. The Guardian reports that the price tag for the operation is over $52 million (500 million kronor) according to LKAB chief executive, Jan Moström.
The church measures over 130 feet across which meant that the width of the roads needed to be more than doubled and a viaduct removed to accommodate the passage of the structure. Inside, the church’s 2,000-plus pipe organ had to be secured along with the altar and a painting.
The building weighs over 740 tons and is one of Sweden’s largest wooden structures. In order to lift the building holes had to be dug for a series of beams to be inserted underneath the church’s foundation. It was then raised up so that two specialized trailers could be slid into place in order to slowly roll the structure to its new site where the Kiruna city center is being relocated.
The trailers will travel at a pace of between less than a third of a mile per hour and just under one mile per hour. It will follow a windy path around the city roughly 3 miles in length.
It is expected to reach its destination by Wednesday afternoon. However, it won’t be open to the public until the end of next year.
Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all.
Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more – plus, stay updated on the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.