Kiruna Church to be moved

Kiruna Church has been named Sweden’s most beautiful building and holds great cultural and historical value. Now, the church and its accompanying bell tower will be relocated. The reason is the mining operations in LKAB’s iron ore mine, which are affecting the area considered the old town center, where the church is currently situated.

Kiruna Church will be the largest building to be moved as part of the urban transformation that began planning over 20 years ago and has received worldwide attention. So far, 23 cultural buildings have been relocated. The church relocation will be livestreamed and is accompanied by various activities during the event.

"We want to create something that makes everyone feel included and that serves as a heartfelt farewell to the churchs original location," says Stefan Holmblad Johansson, project manager for the church relocation at LKAB.

The church building, which is about 40 meters wide and weighs 600 tons, will be loaded onto a trailer and moved in its entirety along a relocation route that will be approximately 5 kilometers long and 24 meters wide. Preparatory work to widen the roads has been ongoing for a year.

Kiruna Church will be moved on 19-20 August.

Lennart Håkansson

editor@northswedenbusiness.com