What could possibly be the reason why this historic wooden church was just moved 5 kilometers across town earlier this week? The answer is part of a grand master plan that has been ongoing for decades.
The Reason This Wooden Church Was Just Moved 5 Kilometers Across Town Was Because…
The relocation of Kiruna Kyrka — which translates into English as Kiruna Church — reportedly costs $52 million and was funded by Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag. The company — which is better known as LKAB Minerals and is owned by the country of Sweden — has been mining what has become the largest underground iron-ore mine in the world near the city of Kiruna since 1910. Subsidence has occurred as a result of the ground continuously being destabilized by the mining — so much so that the entire city is currently in the process of being slowly moved approximately three miles east of its original location because the mine is threatening to “swallow” the town.
Additionally, plans for a new mine could also threaten reindeer migration routes and imperil the livelihood of herders in the area — which are more reasons why some people were not exactly thrilled about this event.
The red Lutheran church was built two years later in 1912 as a gift from LKAB Minerals. The original site was on a hill so worshippers could overlook Kiruna in a structure with motifs that was designed to emulate the style of the indigenous Sami people while blending in neo-Gothic architecture. The unique architecture became distinctive enough to not only become a beloved landmark; but also to be voted by the people of Sweden as the “best building of all time, built before 1950” in a poll in 2001 that was connected to the Ministry of Culture of that country.
The church was closed approximately a year ago in preparation for the move.
Lena Tjärnberg is the vicar of the church who officiated the final service at the original location to christen the move with a blessing on the morning of Tuesday, August 19, 2025 after the church — which weighs 741 tons and is 115 feet tall by 131 feet wide — was lifted on beams to be wheeled from west to east across Kiruna. A major road was widened from approximately 30 feet to 79 feet as designed by engineers — and a viaduct was dismantled — to clear the way for a new intersection for the move of the church.
Thousands of people had descended on the northernmost town in Sweden earlier this week and braved windy conditions with temperatures cooler than 10 degrees Celsius or 50 degrees Fahrenheit to witness the relocation of the church — including Carl XVI Gustaf, who is the current king of Sweden. Engineers had the old wooden structure lifted from its foundation and placed it on a hydraulic transporter for the journey, which can be seen in this video from Sveriges Television Aktiebolag in what has become to be known as The Great Church Walk. Entertainment was provided with a performance by KAJ — the name of which is derived from the initials of the first names of the three men in the group — who represented Sweden with the song Bara Bada Bastu in Eurovision Song Contest in 2025,
A driver piloted the church through the route by using a large control box as it traveled at speeds between 0.5 and 1.5 kilometers per hour approximately twelve hours during Tuesday, August 19, 2025 and Wednesday, August 20, 2025 — with a pause each day to partake in fika, which is the traditional Swedish afternoon coffee break.
To say that the church inched along at a glacial pace is rather appropriate in a city of approximately 23,000 residents — which includes members of the Sami indigenous people — that is located almost 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle…
…but the church is not the only building that has been moved across town.
An Entire City Moves East
As the aforementioned mine continues to expand deeper underground over the years, visible cracks started forming in existing buildings in the old town center and on roads. In order to reach a new depth of 1,365 meters or 4,478 feet — and to prevent the city of Kiruna from being swallowed up into the ground — buildings started to be moved to a new location in 2004 that is now designated as the new town center at a safe distance from the mine.
As of the time this article was written and published, a minimum of 26 buildings had been lifted onto beams and wheeled east — including the church. Kiruna spreads out over an area of almost 19,500 square kilometers or 7,528 square miles.
As at least fifteen buildings remain and are awaiting to be moved, Kiruna Kyrka is expected to reopen at its new location sometime in 2026.
Final Boarding Call
Kiruna is known for both the Midnight Sun and the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis, which I saw when I was there last year. Many people visit this city in Swedish Lapland throughout the year. The region also features Icehotel, the Aurora Sky Station, and Kebnekaise, which is the highest mountain in Sweden.
Once we arrived from Stockholm Centralstation via the Norrland Night Train, we enjoyed our visit to Kiruna, for the most part — even the walk of 4,7 kilometers to the airport, which is a slightly shorter distance than what the church had undergone — until the time arrived for us to leave Sweden and go through the security checkpoint at Kiruna Airport…
All photographs ©2024 by Brian Cohen.
