BBC News, Kiruna

A The 113-year-old church is at risk from landing in its entirety-in a 5-km (3 miles) movement along a road in the far north of Sweden.
The vast red wood structure in Kiruna, dating back to 1912, has been raised on giant rolling platforms and will now start moving to the new city center.
Travel at a top speed of 500 meters per hour, the journey is expected to take two days.
The old city center is at risk of terrestrial cracks more than a century of iron ore mining. The church step is the most exciting and symbolic moment of the broader transmission of buildings in Kirona, which is located 145 km north of the Arctic circle.

In the words of the culture strategy Sofia Lagerlöf Mättä, “It is like finally, let’s accomplish it. We were waiting for many years.”
“We have made a lot of preparation,” says the man in charge of this step, project manager Stefan Halmel Badd Johanneson.
“It is a historical event, a very big and complex process and we have no mistake. But everything is under control.”
It reflects its composure years of planning.
By mid -2010, other buildings in Kiruna were already turned into a safer floor. Most of them were demolished and rebuilt, but some features have been transferred.
These buildings include in Hjalmar Lundbohmsgården, such as the so -called yellow row of three old wooden houses and home director Hjalmar Lundbohm, which was divided into three parts.
The clock tower has been transported on the surface of the old city hall and can now be found next to the new city hall.

Under Swedish law, mining activity cannot occur under the buildings.
“There is no risk of people falling through cracks.”, But cracks will eventually harm water, electricity and supply wastewater. People have to move before infrastructure failure, “explains Robertalo, CEO of Kiruna Development.
The Iron Ore, LKAB mine operator – the largest employer in Kiruna – covers the city’s transfer bill, which is estimated at more than 10 billion Swedish chrons (one billion dollars; 737 million pounds).
The Kiruna Church is 35 meters (115 feet), a width of 40 meters and weighs 672 tons. The vote was once on the most beautiful building in Sweden before 1950.
The transfer of such a large building is an unusual achievement. But instead of dismantling it, the engineers transfer it in one piece, with the support of steel symptoms and are implemented on self -standardized vector.
“The biggest challenge was to prepare the way for such a wide building,” says project manager, Mr. Johannson.
“We expanded it to 24 meters (79 feet) and along the way, we removed the terms and traffic light, as well as a bridge that was determined to demolish anyway.”
Among the most sensitive aspects of this step is the protection of the treasures of the inner church, especially the great altar plate made by Prince Eugene, a member of the royal family in Sweden.
“It is not something suspended on a hook that only takes off,” says Johansson.
“It is pasted directly on the construction wall, so it was difficult to remove it without damage. So he will stay inside the church during the movement, completely covered and stability. So the member will be with 1,000 tubes.”


This step is much more than just an engineering marvel for the local population – it is a very emotional moment.
“The church was a spiritual center and a place to bring society to generations,” says Sofia Lagirlov Mitt, who remembers walking in the church for the first time as a young child with her grandmother.
“This step has brought back memories of joy and sadness for us, and we are now transferring those memories with us to the future.”
This feeling also shares the project manager Stephen Halmelad Johansson, an engineer who doubles as a member of the Gospel choir of the Church.
“This is a very special task for me,” he says. “The church has been built more than 100 years ago for the municipality by LKAB. Now we move it to the new city. There can be no other way.”

For the church deputy, Lina Jegrenberg, the moment bears an additional meaning.
“The church leaves a place to really belong,” she says.
“Everyone knows that it must be transferred: We live in a society of mining and rely on the mine. I am grateful because we transfer the church with us to the new city center, but there is also sadness in his vision that leaves the land where the church has become.”
When the huge walls in the Kiruna Church begin forward, thousands of residents and visitors – King Karl Gustav, Sweden – are expected to browse the road.
Swedish TV also broadcasts The entire journey lives as a “slow TV”, which represents a rare moment when it only survives part of history – it is moving with it.
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