Kiruna’s centenary church is moving to make way for iron mines

From a distance, his silhouette evokes the conical huts of the samis, the indigenous people of Lapland. Moreover, The Lutheran church of Kiruna. However, in northern Sweden, began its movement of five kilometers on Tuesday, August 19 in order to escape the collapse of the soil caused by the exploitation of the largest underground iron mine in the world.

Its 600 tonnes of wood. Therefore, frame and organs are moved into a single block at the speed of a walker, on a specially widened track. Moreover, The bell tower, weighing 100 tonnes, will follow later. Moreover, The building will be reinstalled near the cemetery, facing west, to keep the entrance to the city. In addition, This centenary building joins a new site, in the heart of a city center itself in full move.

Kiruna owes its existence to the mine. kiruna’s centenary church moving make Consequently, At the end of the 19th century, the LKAB mining company began to exploit the Kiirunavaara mountain. For example, To connect this isolated deposit to the rest of the country. Moreover, Parliament has the “Iron line”inaugurated in 1903, which links Kiruna to the Norwegian port of Narvik. Therefore, The workers arrive from the whole country. In this Subarctic Desert 200 kilometers north of the Polar Circle, a mining city arises. Today, the company is by far the first employer in the region with more than 2,000 employees.

At the heart of this new city. Hjalmar Lundbohm, director of LKAB and founder of Kiruna, commands the construction of a large church, convinced that she will weld the young mining community. Inaugurated in 1912, the building is one of the largest wooden buildings in Sweden. The architect Gustaf Wickman gives him neogothic features and an Art Nouveau interior. It is also kiruna’s centenary church moving make inspired by lavuConical tents of Rennes Samis breeders.

By integrating this cultural reference, the church becomes much more than a place of worship. For the last Aboriginal people in Europe. it is a recognition of their heritage: a place of memory, at the crossroads of industrialization and ancestral cultures. In 2001, she was even elected “preferred Swedish building” for the period preceding 1950.

Kiruna's centenary church moving make – Kiruna's centenary church moving make

Already sacrificed neighborhoods

But being a mining city has a cost. Each day, around 50,000 tonnes of ore come out kiruna’s centenary church moving make of the ground to feed Europe and Asia. In 2020, Sweden alone assured 93 % of the European Union iron production according to the OECD, including 80 % directly extracted by LKAB. To follow global demand, especially Chinese, the exploitation goes down more and more, up to 1,365 meters. The city is a real underground gruyère.

Over the decades, sagging has multiplied, lizarding roads and houses, threatening schools and hospitals. Between 1960 and 1980, hundreds of families had already had to abandon their neighborhood. In 2004, LKAB confirmed the inevitable: the entire city center must be moved. Since then, 23 historical and cultural buildings have already taken the road, giving way to the expansion of the mine. Here, mining activity directly shapes town planning.

An extraordinary move

It is now the turn of the church of Kiruna to migrate. The moving invoice is estimated at half a billion crowns (around kiruna’s centenary church moving make 44.5 million euros), supported by the industrialist.

For samis. whose pasture lands are already started by mines, dams or wind farms, the episode of Kiruna is difficult to accept. “The mining expansion jeopardizes our culture. our language and the future of our reindeer herds”, explained a group of young samis against the crowd, during a rally in 2023. “We want to honor the land we have lost and protect those that remain. »»

LKAB nevertheless claims its role as a “green” iron pioneer, promising by 2035 a production entirely fueled by renewable energies. But. even under this model presented as sustainable, mining continues to reshape the landscapes and impose displacements of populations and buildings.