Entire church begins two-day journey across Swedish city of Kiruna

A The 113-year-old turning point, the church at risk caused by ground collapse, is completely transported-5 km (3 miles) along a road far north of Islam.

The wide red wooden structure dating back to 1912 in Kiruna was taken on giant rolling platforms and will now move to the new city center.

The journey traveling at a maximum speed of 500 m per hour is expected to take two days.

The old city center is caused by ground cracks after more than a century iron ore mining. The movement of the church is the most spectacular and symbolic moment for the extensive displacement of the buildings in Kiruna, 145 km north of the Arctic circle in Kiruna.

Culture strategist Sofia lagerlöf määttä words, “Finally, let’s do it. We are waiting for many years”.

“We have made a lot of preparations,” he says, ”

“This is a historical event, a very large and complex operation and a mistake margin. But everything is under control.”

It reflects his coolness for years.

In the mid -2010s, other buildings in Kiruna were already shifting to a safer ground. Most of them were destroyed and rebuilt, but some ground signs were moved without disturbing.

These include buildings such as the old house of Hjalmar Lundbohm, the so -called yellow order of the three old wooden houses in Hjalmar Lundbohmsgården.

The clock tower on the roof of the Old Town Hall has also been moved and now it can be located next to the New Town Hall.

According to Swedish laws, mining activities cannot take place under buildings.

Robert Yltalo, General Manager of Kiruna’s development company, explains: “People do not have the risk of falling from cracks. However, cracks ultimately damage water, electricity and sewage supply.

The largest employer of the Demir Ore Mine’s operator LKAB – Kiruna’s largest employer – more than 10 billion Swedish Krona ($ 1 billion; $ 737 million) covers the displacement invoice of the city.

The Kiruna church is 35m (115ft) high, 40m wide and weighs 672 tons. Once upon a time, the most beautiful building of Sweden before 1950 was chosen.

The transport of such a large building is an unusual success. However, instead of disassembling, engineers are supported by steel beams and transported on self -driven modular carriers.

“The biggest challenge was to prepare a way for such a large building,” the project manager Johansson says.

He continued: “We expanded to 24 meters (79ft) and we’ve removed a bridge planned for lamps, traffic lights and still planned for destruction along the way.”

The most sensitive aspects of the movement include the preservation of the inner treasures of the church, especially the great altar painting made by Prince Eugen, a member of the Swedish royal family.

“This is not just something hanging in a hook you take out,” Johansson says.

He continued: “It was glued directly to a wall wall, so it would be difficult to remove without damage. Thus, it will remain in the church during the movement, will be completely covered and stabilized. Organ will be with 1000 pipes.”

Movement is much more than an engineering wonder for local residents – this is a deep emotional moment.

“The church served as a meeting place for a spiritual center and community for generations,” Sofia Lagerlöf Määttä, who remembered to enter the church for the first time with his grandmother, says.

“The movement brought us back the memories of joy and sadness, and now we carry these memories to the future with us.”

This feeling is shared by a project manager Stefan Holmblad Johansson by an engineer who doubles as a member of the Church’s Gospel Choir.

“This is a very special task for me, or he says. “The church was built by LKAB 100 years ago for the municipality. Now we’re moving it to the new city. There can be no other way.”

For Lena Tjärnberg, the victory of the church, the moment has the additional meaning of the moment.

“The church leaves a place where it really belongs, or he says.

“Everyone knows that it should be moved: we live in a mining community and we trust the mine.

When the large walls of the Kiruna church began to progress, thousands of calm and visitors are expected to rank the route – Swedish king Carl Gustaf.

Swedish television also broadcasts The whole journey lives as “Slow TV” and points to a rare moment when a piece of history is not only getting rid of change – it moves with it.