TO Kirunain Swedenoperations are underway to move to 5 km The city church, lifting it completely from the foundations. There Kiruna Kyrka, a Lutheran church dating back to 1912, is high 35 meters40 meters wide and weighs overall 672 tons: it is one of the most well -known and appreciated buildings in the country and contains a series of drawings inspired by Sami indigenousthe only indigenous people recognized as such in Europe.
The state company is responsible for transporting the wooden building Lkabowner of the underground iron mine which has strongly weakened the surrounding land, forcing to transfer the Church before the latter sink.
The project to transfer the Church of Kiruna to Sweden
In order to be moved, the Kiruna church was literally raised by the foundations: for this reason, the Lkab company had to build a special trailer. The building, of 672 tonswas hoisted on gods trailers on a lowered floor, remote controlled and with a total of 220 wheelsfor a total weight greater than 1,200 tons.
To be protected, then, there is also all the heritage preserved within the Church, including the painting Above the altar made by the prince Eugen (a member of the Swedish royal family) and the precious organimpossible to remove without causing damage.
The transfer operations will last in total 2 daysending on Wednesday 20 August: the new destination is just over 5 kilometers and the trailer travels about 500 meters per hour. The event has recalled numerous visitors from all over the country and also from abroad: the operations will even be transmitted live fromSVT television station.
To make this move possible, they have even been even Widen some roads along the way, removing lamps, traffic lights and other obstacles that could have prevented the full success of the project. The estimated cost of this operation is about 500 million crowns (even 45 million euros), entirely covered by the Lkab company.
Because the city of Kiruna must be moved
As already mentioned, the Kiruna church has been transferred due to the risk of land sagging caused by the presence of a mine of iron managed by the Lkab state company, from which it is obtained about the80% of all the iron Extract in Europe. In fact, the increasingly profound excavations have strongly weakened the ground, significantly increasing the possibilities of collapse in different areas of the city.
In fact, the project plans to move most of the city: some historic buildings have already been transferred (disassembled and reassembled), including the famous yellow houses dating back to 1905 (built in another location and reassembled precisely in Kiruna to cope with the request for accommodation) and the Clock Towerwhich is now located next to the new town hall. In total, more than 6,000 people will be relocated and the operations will not end before the 2033.
Once the transfer of all the buildings involved in the project is completed, the mine will be further expanded: however, it must be emphasized that in the town, located 200 km from the Arctic Circle, they live approximately 23 thousand inhabitants And the economy of this place depends heavily on mining.
The new expansion, however, has attracted the criticisms of some Sami indigenous communities, according to which the weakening of the earth due to the mine could make the reindeer migration, putting at risk the sustenance of the shepherds of the area.
