‘A Day Of Joy’: Historic Church Relocation Captivates The World
The sight of a Swedish church on the move attracted attention worldwide.
After all, it’s not often you see an entire building — complete with bell tower, stone statues, an altar and organ — moved all in one piece over a distance of three miles (five kilometers).
The 600-ton church was lifted onto a custom-built trailer and transported over two days as part of a larger 30-year project to relocate the Arctic city of Kiruna to safer ground due to the expansion of the world's largest underground iron ore mine.
The move, which was completed on Aug. 20, attracted some 10,000 people — including Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf — many of whom had traveled to Kiruna to see the 113-year-old wooden church move to its new location.
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The Lutheran Kiruna Kyrka has existed on its original site for over 100 years, having been founded in 1909 by Hijalmar Lundbohm, who was the first manager of Kiruna’s mine. The church was finally consecrated for use in 1912. Upon his death in 1926, Hjalmar Lundbohm was buried just outside the church. During the decades that followed, the church became the center of Kiruna.
“The church is part of Kiruna’s soul and without the church, the city would not be the same. It is incredibly important to the residents of Kiruna,” Pastor Lena Tjärnberg said. “It means a lot to the congregation that it gets moved to the new city. The church is the core of the congregation and without it we are a bit lost.”
Mine-operator LKAB had spent the past year widening the road for the journey, which took the red-painted church down a windy road to its new home.
"For me, it’s like a day of joy,” Tjärnberg added. “But I think people also feel sad because we have to leave this place.”
Architecturally, the building reflects a combination of traditional stave churches and Sami huts built as a gathering place for entire city population. Considered one of the most beautiful buildings in Sweden, the move has been in the works since 2017.
While it was no easy task, there was no question of demolishing the church and rebuilding it elsewhere.
“We removed the pews from the church to renovate them,” Tjärnberg said. “But otherwise everything remains in the church, even the organ is still there, which we initially thought we would need to take down.”
The new location had been carefully chosen as a result of discussions between the church authorities and the municipality. It is now located between the cemetery and the new city center. An unexpected result of the move was that the building was rotated 180 degrees to face west, reflecting traditional folk church design in which the entrance faces the community.
The church is just one small part of the massive relocation project. LKAB said some 3,000 homes need to move, including a number of commercial buildings.
Tjärnberg and Åsa Nyström, Bishop of the Diocese of Luleå, blessed the travel path just before the church began moving.
Upon its arrival, Tjärnberg said, “We will bless the new place and the church but we will not consecrate it again. It has been a church throughout the moving process.”
“The church is Kiruna’s soul in some way, and in someplace it’s a safe place,” she added. “For me, it’s like a day of joy. But I think people also feel sad because we have to leave this place.”
Angela Youngman is a freelance journalist who has written for a wide range of British and international publications.