Swedish church has to be moved in a mysterious way to avoid collapsing mine

Giant rolling platforms with a top speed of 500 metres an hour used to deliver Kiruna to a new home 5km away

The old wooden church in Kiruna, northern Sweden, sits on a relocation rig with wheels for a painstaking, two-day trip to a new site 5km away. Reuters

Peope gather to watch the moving of the wooden Kiruna Church, in Kiruna, Sweden on August 19, 2025. The church is being moved five kilometers to the new center of Kiruna due to the expansion of the iron ore mine operated by state-owned Swedish mining company LKAB. (Photo by Fredrik SANDBERG / various sources / AFP) / Sweden OUT

Vicar Lena Tjarnberg, left, and Bishop Asa Nystrom bless the Sami-style wooden Swedish Lutheran church shortly before its 5km journey begins. AP

State-owned Swedish mining company LKAB is footing the bill for the relocation project. AFP

The moving of the church, over fears of subsidence linked to mining, is captured by residents. Reuters

In a feat for engineering and logistics, workers prepare the moving of the wooden Kiruna Church. AFP

Its on its way! Reuters

A church in Sweden is being moved a few kilometres down the road – to avoid being swallowed by a collapsing mine.

Kiruna Church and its belfry are being moved 5km east to a new city centre as part of the whole town’s relocation.

Kiruna sits on the world’s largest underground iron-ore mine, which is at risk of ground subsidence.

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Vicar Lena Tjarnberg began the move with a blessing on Tuesday morning after thousands of visitors arrived in Kiruna.

"The last day you go down the stairs and close the church door, you know it's going to be several years before you can open it – and in a new place,” she said. “We don't know how it's going to feel to open the door.”

In an impressive feat of engineering, the entire church building has been hoisted on to giant rolling platforms to be transported – at a top speed of 500 metres an hour – to its new spot. Its interior has been secured by metal scaffolding, while roads have been widened to accommodate the church on its journey, expected to be completed by Wednesday afternoon.

Peope gather to watch the moving of the wooden Kiruna Church on Tuesday. AFP

The church is the most intricate operation of wider project to relocate other town centre buildings at risk of subsidence. It is set to reopen at the new site by the end of next year.

Kiruna, Sweden's northernmost town at 200km beyond the Arctic Circle, is home to 23,000 people, including members of the Sami Indigenous people.

The wooden Lutheran church, called Kiruna Kyrka in Swedish, was a gift from mining company LKAB, the town's biggest employer. LKAB is covering the city's relocation bill, thought to exceed 10 billion Swedish krona ($1 billion).

It was voted the “best building of all time, built before 1950” in a 2001 poll of Swedish people connected to the Ministry of Culture.

Built on a hill so worshippers could overlook the rest of the town, it was designed to emulate the Sami style.

The Kiruna mine dates back to 1910 and the church was completed in 1912.

Lars-Marcus Kuhmunen, chairman of one of the Sami reindeer-herding organisations in Kiruna, said the new mine could threaten the wild animals' migration routes and affect the livelihood of herders.