The whole church begins a two -day trip through the Swedish city of Kiruna

A Landmark, a 113 -year -old church, at risk of a floor on the ground, is being moved in its entirety – in a 5 km (3 miles) movement along a road in the far north of Sweden.

The vast red wooden structure in Kiruna dating from 1912 has been hoisted on giant rolling platforms and will now start to move to the new city center.

Traveling at a maximum speed of 500 m per hour, the trip should take two days.

The old city center is in danger of cracks on the ground after more than a century of iron ore. The movement of the church is the most spectacular and symbolic moment of the wider relocation of buildings in Kiruna, which is 145 km north of the Arctic Circle.

In the words of the strategist of Sofia Lagerlöf Määttä culture, “it’s like finally, let’s do it. We have been waiting for so many years”.

“We have done so much preparation,” explains the man in charge of the move, the project manager Stefan Holmblad Johansson.

“It is a historical event, a very important and complex operation and we have no margin of error. But everything is under control.”

His composure reflects years of planning.

In mid-2010, other Kiruna buildings were already moved to safer land. Most have been demolished and rebuilt, but some benchmarks were moved intact.

These include the buildings of Hjalmar Lundbohmsgården, like the so-called yellow row of three old wooden houses and the old house of the mining director Hjalmar Lundbohm, which was divided into three parts.

The clock tower on the roof of the old town hall has also been moved and can now be found next to the new town hall.

Under the Swedish law, mining activity cannot take place in buildings.

Robert Ylitalo, chief executive officer of the Kiruna development company, explains: “There is no risk that people fall through cracks. But cracks would ultimately damage water, electricity and wastewater supply. People must move before infrastructure.”

The iron mine operator, LKAB – also Kiruna’s largest employer – covers the city’s relocation bill, estimated at more than 10 billion Swedish Krona ($ 1 billion; £ 737 m).

The Kiruna church measures 35 m (115 feet) high, 40 m wide and weighs 672 tonnes. He was once elected the most beautiful pre-1950 building in Sweden.

Moving such a large building is an unusual feat. But instead of dismantling it, the engineers move it in one piece, supported by steel beams and transported to self -propelled modular carriers.

“The biggest challenge has been to prepare the road to such a broad building,” said project manager, Johansson.

“We widened it at 24 meters (79 feet) and along the way, we deleted the lampposts, the traffic lights and a bridge which was still demolishing.”

Among the most delicate aspects of the decision, there is the protection of the interior treasures of the church, in particular his great altar painting produced by Prince Eugen, member of the royal family of Sweden.

“It is not something that clings to a hook that you take off,” said Johansson.

“It is stuck directly on a masonry wall, it would therefore have been difficult to remove without damage. It will therefore remain inside the church during the move, entirely covered and stabilized. The same goes for the organ with its 1,000 pipes.”

This decision is much more than an engineering wonder for local residents – it is a deeply emotional moment.

“The church has served as a spiritual center and a gathering for the community for generations,” said Sofia Lagerlöf Määttä, who remembers having entered the church for the first time as a young child with her grandmother.

“This decision has brought us memories of joy and sorrow, and we now make these memories with us in the future.”

This feeling is also shared by the project manager Stefan Holmblad Johansson, an engineer who doubles as a member of the church gospel choir.

“It’s a very special task for me,” he said. “The church was built over 100 years ago for the municipality by LKAB. Now we move it in the new city. There is simply no other way.”

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

“The church leaves a place where it really belongs,” she said.

“Everyone knows that it must be moved: we live in a mining community and count on the mine. I am grateful that we move the church with us in the new city center, but there is also sorrow to see him leave the ground where he has become a church.”

While the massive walls of the Kiruna church begin to move forward, thousands of residents and visitors – the king of Sweden Carl Gustaf among them – should line the route.

Swedish television also broadcasts all the live journey under the name of “Lente television”, marking a rare moment when a piece of history does not only survive change – it moves with it.