The commanding wooden church, striking for its red hue and angular beauty, has drawn admirers for more than a century to a hill in Kiruna, Sweden’s most northernmost city.
Soon they will be admiring it elsewhere. On Tuesday, after a blessing from local Lutheran leaders, the church trundled off on its first road trip.
The 113-year-old house of worship will be slowly wheeled three miles over the course of two days. The purpose: To save it from unstable ground on its current site, disturbed by nearby iron mining.
It was an entrancing spectacle for the residents of Kiruna, who have been fielding interest in the yearslong relocation of the city’s entire old center.
The city sits above the world’s largest underground iron ore mine, according to its operators, the Swedish state-owned company LKAB. About two dozen buildings have been relocated since 2004, when the mining company told local officials that the expansion of its underground operations had put Kiruna’s old town center at risk.
Perhaps the biggest logistical challenge has been the church, Kiruna Kyrka, a protected building that is one of Sweden’s most beloved cultural institutions. The Luthern church was initially given to the town by the same mining company, commissioned by the director for LKAB and built in 1912. The church and its separate belfry are a hot spot for visitors and a spiritual space for locals.
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The post From Unstable Ground, an Old Church Rolls to a New Home appeared first on New York Times.
