A Swedish church’s glacial trek

Structure is inched to a new site to avoid being swallowed by a mine

- By STEFANIE Dazio, MALIN HAARALA AND PIETRO DE CRISTOFARO

A WOODEN CHURCH in Kiruna, Sweden, is moved on wheels along a three-mile route to a new city center.

JONATHAN NACKSTRAND AFP/Getty Images

How do you move one of Sweden's most beloved wooden churches down the road? With a little bit of engineering, a lot of prayer—and some Eurovision for good luck.

The Kiruna Church — called Kiruna Kyrka in Swedish — and its belfry are being moved this week along a three-mile route east to a new city center as part of the town’s relocation. It’s happening because the world’s largest underground ironore mine is threatening to swallow the town.

This week, thousands of visitors have descended upon Kiruna, Sweden’s northernmost town at 124 miles above the Arctic Circle. It’s home to roughly 23,000 people, including members of the Sami Indigenous people.

Lena Tjarnberg, the church’s vicar, kicked off the move — after the church was earlier lifted up on beams to be wheeled across the town — with a blessing Tuesday morning. Thousands of spectators lined the streets, bundled up in layers to brave strong winds and sub-50-degree temperatures as the church inched along for hours at a glacial pace.

The journey is scheduled to end Wednesday afternoon.