2 days ago
Historic Swedish church on the move in logistical feat
Throughout its journey on Tuesday, workers in yellow vests and helmets scrambled around the structure, taking measurements and conducting tests to ensure everything proceeded as planned.
After a smooth ride, a brief lunch break and frequent technical checks inside the church, the transport stopped for the day around 3.50pm (1.50pm GMT), more than an hour before schedule.
It was to resume on Wednesday morning and scheduled to arrive at its final destination in the afternoon.
'Hopefully tomorrow will be a walk in the park again,' LKAB chief executive Jan Mostrom told AFP, admitting he had been 'a little worried about this'.
'Unique event'
The move has generated widespread interest, with large crowds thronging the streets of the town of 18,000 people.
King Carl XVI Gustaf was due to take part in the festivities in Kiruna. And Swedish television was broadcasting the entire journey live – a new iteration of the 'slow TV' trend.
The town's relocation process began almost two decades ago and is expected to continue for years to come. The new town centre was officially inaugurated in September 2022.
The relocation of the church alone is expected to cost 500 million kronor ($52 million) and is being paid for by LKAB.
Designed by Swedish architect Gustaf Wickman, the church, which measures 40m tall, is a mix of influences and includes designs inspired by the region's Indigenous Sami people on the pews.
The neo-Gothic exterior features slanting roofs and windows on each side, while its dark interior has elements of national romanticism as well as an Art Nouveau altarpiece.
LKAB has called the relocation 'a unique event in world history'.
Other larger, heavier objects have been moved before, but usually in ports or industrial areas – not through small towns.
The roads on the route have been widened, from nine to 24m, and levelled to provide a smooth ride.
'Not just any building'
Elisabeth Turq, a 66-year-old French tourist who travelled to Kiruna to follow the move, was awestruck.
'It's quite remarkable to be able to move such a building,' she told AFP.
Sami author Ann-Helen Laestadius, a Kiruna native best known for her novel Stolen, which was made into a Netflix drama last year, said she had mixed feelings.
'I'm glad the church is being moved... anything else would have been a scandal,' she told SVT. 'It's such a big part of Kiruna's soul.
'I was baptised, confirmed and married in this church,' she said.
'But it is extremely difficult to see your town disappear,' she added, lamenting the loss of other landmarks razed in the town's move.
LKAB offered to financially compensate those affected by the town's relocation, or rebuild their homes or buildings.
'But when it came to the church, we decided it was best to move it in one piece,' LKAB project manager Stefan Holmblad Johansson told AFP, saying the move was being handled 'with great reverence'.
'This is not just any building, it's a church.'
Particular attention was paid to protect both the church's large organ, with its more than 2000 pipes, and altarpiece, a pastel landscape painted by Sweden's Prince Eugen (1865-1947).
The belltower, which stood separately next to the church, will be moved next week.
-Agence France-Presse
