Latest news with #ironoremine
The Independent
12 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
Watch live: Sweden's historic 600-tonne Kiruna Church moves to new home
Watch live as an entire church in Sweden continues its move to its new home on Wednesday, 20 August. Kiruna Church is being relocated to save it from ground subsidence and the expansion of the world's largest underground iron ore mine. The move, which began on Tuesday, is part of a 30-year project to relocate thousands of people and buildings from the city in the country's far north. Footage shows the 600-tonne, 113-year-old church slowly moving down a road after it was lifted from its foundations and onto a specially built trailer. Mine operator LKAB has spent the last year widening the road for the journey. The red-painted church, one of Sweden's largest wooden structures and often voted its most beautiful, will travel 5km (3 miles) to a brand-new Kiruna city centre at a speed of 500 metres per hour. People have lined the streets to watch the structure slowly move towards its new home.
France 24
12 hours ago
- Business
- France 24
Historic Swedish church inches closer to new home
Kiruna's entire town centre is being relocated because of the giant LKAB iron ore mine that dominates the region, whose ever deeper burrowing over the years has weakened the ground, increasing the risk of collapse in some parts. Kiruna Kyrka, an imposing 672-tonne Swedish Lutheran church from 1912, is being moved five kilometres (three miles) on remote-controlled flatbed trailers, moving at a snail's pace of half a kilometre an hour to the new Kiruna town. The complex and costly logistical operation began on Tuesday and was scheduled to be completed on Wednesday around 2:00 or 3:00 pm (1200 or 1300 GMT). The journey has so far gone smoothly for the 1,200-tonne convoy, but was expected to proceed more slowly on Wednesday due to some tricky narrow passages and 90 degree turns, officials said. The move has generated widespread interest, with large crowds thronging the streets of the town of 18,000 people and Swedish television broadcasting the entire journey live. King Carl XVI Gustaf was due to take part in festivities in Kiruna, including an attempt to break the world record for the number of people attending a "kyrkkaffe", a church coffee break. 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 40 metres (131 feet) 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 and an organ with more than 2,000 pipes. The church's handblown glass windows were removed ahead of the move, replaced with plywood painted to look like windows. The belltower, which stood separately next to the church, will be moved next week.
Sky News
a day ago
- Business
- Sky News
Swedish church being moved three miles to prevent it being swallowed by underground mine
One of Sweden's most famous wooden churches is being moved to a new site - to prevent it from being swallowed by the world's largest underground iron-ore mine. The Kiruna Church, called Kiruna Kyrka in Swedish, and its belfry, are being moved this week along a three-mile route east to a new city centre. They are the latest buildings to be moved from the current location of Kiruna - Sweden's northernmost city, which is around 124 miles inside the Arctic Circle. The city has a population of around 23,000 people, including members of the Indigenous Sami community, living across an area of nearly 7,528 square miles. 0:38 This week, thousands of visitors have descended upon the city to watch and take part in the moving of the church. The church's vicar, Lena Tjarnberg, kicked off the move with a blessing on Tuesday morning. The move is expected to take until Wednesday afternoon. The relocation of the church has become a meticulously planned two-day media event, organised by LKAB, the state-owned mining company, and highlighted by an appearance from Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf. It will feature a music show, including a performance by KAJ, Sweden's 2025 Eurovision representative, who had been the bookmakers' top pick to win this year's competition, but finished fourth behind Austria, Israel and Estonia. Stefan Holmblad Johansson, LKAB's project manager for the move, would not say how much the move had cost the mining company. Famous for its Midnight Sun and Northern Lights, Kiruna and its surrounding region attract visitors to Swedish Lapland throughout the entire year. The move of Kiruna's centre, including the church, has been in the works since 2004. As the nearby mine expanded deeper underground, residents began seeing cracks in buildings and roads. In order to reach a new depth of 1,365 meters (4,478 feet) - and to prevent Kiruna from being swallowed up - officials began moving buildings to a new downtown at a safe distance from the mine. As of July, 25 buildings had been lifted onto beams and wheeled east. Sixteen, including the church, remain. The Sami reindeer herding organisations in Kiruna have warned that a new mine could threaten reindeer migration routes and imperil the livelihood of herders in the area.
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Historic church begins three-mile journey to new home
Kiruna Church in Sweden began a two-day journey to a new location on Tuesday, 19 August, to protect it from ground subsidence. The relocation is necessary due to the expansion of the world's largest underground iron ore mine in the city. The 600-tonne, 113-year-old wooden church was lifted onto a specially built trailer and will travel three miles to a new city centre. This move is part of a 30-year project to relocate thousands of people and buildings from Kiruna in northern Sweden. Watch the video in full above
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Watch live: Sweden's historic 600-tonne Kiruna Church begins move to new home
Watch live as an entire church in Sweden begins its move to its new home on Tuesday, 19 August. Kiruna Church is being relocated to save it from ground subsidence and the expansion of the world's largest underground iron ore mine. The move is part of a 30-year project to relocate thousands of people and buildings from the city in the country's far north. Footage shows the 600-tonne, 113-year-old church slowly moving down a road after it was lifted from its foundations and onto a specially built trailer. Mine operator LKAB has spent the last year widening the road for the journey. The red-painted church, one of Sweden's largest wooden structures and often voted its most beautiful, will travel 5km (3 miles) to a brand-new Kiruna city centre at a speed of 500 metres per hour. People have lined the streets to watch the structure slowly move towards its new home.
