{"id":3616,"date":"2025-08-20T09:30:56","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T09:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/?p=3616"},"modified":"2025-08-22T15:19:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T15:19:01","slug":"swedish-city-of-kiruna-wheels-entire-672-tonne-church-intact-to-new-location","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2025\/08\/20\/swedish-city-of-kiruna-wheels-entire-672-tonne-church-intact-to-new-location\/","title":{"rendered":"Swedish city of Kiruna wheels entire 672-tonne-church intact to new location"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-bottom: 15px\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"852\" height=\"852\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"attachment-homepage_article_featured size-homepage_article_featured lazyload\" alt=\"Kiruna Church relocated in Sweden\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" data-src=\"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sq-kiruna-church-relocation_dezeen_2364_col_0-852x852-1.jpg\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/sweden\/\">Sweden<\/a>&#8216;s Kiruna Church\u00a0is being transported in its entirety to a new location along a five-kilometre route to accommodate the expansion of the world&#8217;s largest underground iron-ore mine.<span id=\"more-2238113\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Weighing 672 tonnes, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/churches\/\">church<\/a> is being moved over two days at a cautious speed of half a kilometre per hour <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2019\/02\/18\/kiruna-moving-town-sweden-mining-climate-change\/\">as part of a wider scheme<\/a> to relocate the town of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/kiruna\/\">Kiruna<\/a>, organised by Swedish mining company <a href=\"https:\/\/lkab.com\/en\/\">Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara<\/a> (LKAB) and its owner, the Swedish government.<\/p>\n<p>The church&#8217;s relocation, <a href=\"https:\/\/lkab.com\/en\/events\/the-moving-of-kiruna-church\/\">which is being broadcast live<\/a>, has been named The Great Church Walk, with members of the public invited to walk along the journey at designated parts.<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Swedish city of Kiruna wheels entire 672-tonne-church intact to new location\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AbmS6R6RJ3I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<em>Kiruna Church is being transported in its entirety to a new location<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Designed by Swedish architect Gustaf Wickman and inaugurated in 1912, Kiruna Church began its journey at 08:00 local time yesterday and is scheduled to arrive at its final destination between 15:00 and 17:00 today.<\/p>\n<p>Measuring 40 metres wide, the church&#8217;s wooden structure was hoisted on steel beams perched atop self-propelled modular transporters for its five-kilometre-long relocation journey. In preparation for the move, some roads have been widened over the past year.<\/p>\n<p>Kiruna Church is being moved in its entirety with the aim of minimising damage to the building, compared to if it were dismantled. Its accompanying bell tower will be relocated next week.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">After years of planning and careful preparations, Sweden&#8217;s landmark Kiruna Church began a two-day trip to a new home to save it from ground subsidence and the expansion of the world&#8217;s largest underground iron ore mine <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/b6t82VWCqo\">https:\/\/t.co\/b6t82VWCqo<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lcT0vGsFVx\">pic.twitter.com\/lcT0vGsFVx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Reuters (@Reuters) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Reuters\/status\/1957758189451243626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\n<em>It was placed atop steel beams on transporters for the journey<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is an important and carefully planned move, and we are approaching the finish line,&#8221; said LKAB project manager Stefan Holmblad Johansson.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The church is truly unique and means a lot to many people beyond just being a landmark of Kiruna, and we want to give everyone the opportunity to follow and be a part of this historic event.&#8221;<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related-in-article-wrapper\" id=\"recommended-item-single-story\">\n<article class=\"related-in-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2019\/02\/18\/kiruna-moving-town-sweden-mining-climate-change\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Can this image be in the exclude lightbox list? --><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"191\" height=\"191\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"excludeLightbox wp-post-image lazyload\" alt=\"Kiruna climate change\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" data-src=\"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/kiruna-town-hall-henning-larsen-sweden_dezeen_2364_sq-191x191-1.jpg\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"related-in-article-text\">\n<h1>Read:<\/h1>\n<h2>Biggest challenge of relocating Swedish town Kiruna is &#8220;moving the minds of citizens&#8221;<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The church is one of 23 cultural buildings to be moved by the state-owned LKAB, which has been extracting iron ore from under Kiruna for over 70 years in what the company claims is <a href=\"https:\/\/lkab.com\/en\/home\/community-development\/lkab-in-kiruna\/\">the world&#8217;s largest underground mine for iron ore<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The mining operations have caused a weakening in the ground above that is threatening parts of Kiruna, leading to the decision in 2004 to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2019\/02\/18\/kiruna-moving-town-sweden-mining-climate-change\/\">relocate the old town<\/a> to a new town three kilometres east.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2014\/06\/04\/white-arkitetker-the-new-kiruna-city-relocation-sweden\/\">Masterplanned by White Arkitekter and Ghilardi+Hellsten<\/a>, the new town features <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2018\/11\/22\/kiruna-town-hall-henning-larsen-sweden-artic-circle\/\">a circular town hall designed by Scandinavian firm Henning Larsen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2238329\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2238329\" style=\"width: 2364px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2238329 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Kiruna Church in Sweden\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1891\" data-src=\"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/kiruna-church-relocation-sweden_dezeen_2364_col_2.jpg\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2238329\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The wooden church was inaugurated in 1912. Photo by Arild Va\u030agen via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the end of its journey, Kiruna Church will be placed in its new location, situated between the cemetery and the new town centre. Other parish buildings are set to join it to form a unified setting.<\/p>\n<p>Norwegian construction company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.veidekke.com\/\">Veidekke<\/a> was tasked with transporting the church and bell tower, as well as constructing the relocation route and forming the foundations at the new site.<\/p>\n<p>Once the building has been placed in its new setting, Veidekke will restore the relocation route and the church&#8217;s original site, which will become a temporary mining town park.<\/p>\n<p>Recently completed churches that have been featured on Dezeen include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2025\/06\/19\/hojvangen-church-henning-larsen-skanderborg-denmark\/\">a woodland church in Denmark by Henning Larsen<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2025\/05\/02\/studio-bright-st-marys-coptic-church\/\">a fluted-concrete chapel extension in Australia by Studio Bright<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>The photography and film are courtesy of Moa Str\u00e5lberg, Kiruna municipality, unless stated.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2025\/08\/20\/kiruna-church-relocation-sweden\/\">Swedish city of Kiruna wheels entire 672-tonne-church intact to new location<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\">Dezeen<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sweden&#8216;s Kiruna Church\u00a0is being transported in its entirety to a new location along a five-kilometre [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3616"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3616"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3622,"href":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3616\/revisions\/3622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}