Historic 672-tonne Swedish church to relocate on trailers

The move, at a cost of $52 million, will allow for the expansion of Europe’s biggest underground iron mine

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With great fanfare, a historic red wooden church considered one of Sweden's most beautiful buildings was to be moved yesterday from its longtime home in the Arctic town of Kiruna to allow the expansion of Europe’s biggest underground mine.

Kiruna Kyrka, a Swedish Lutheran church, dates from 1912, but the 672-tonne building is being moved five kilometres on remote-controlled flatbed trailers, at a pace of half-a-kilometre an hour to the new Kiruna town.

The complex operation has generated widespread interest, with more than 10,000 people expected to line the streets of the town of 18,000 people.