Thousands of people watch a beloved Swedish church takes place extremely slowly in her new house

Clara Nyström was deeply moved when she saw the beloved wooden church in her city appear on the horizon, sparkling in the sun as she always moved to her new house.

This week, the historic church of Kiruna, the most northern city of Sweden, was slowly moved on wheels to a site at five kilometers.

The two days, live EVENT – Nicknamed “The Great Church Move” – ​​attracted thousands of spectators and marks an important step in the process of several years of the city to move fully to avoid being swallowed by an underground mine whose expansion has changed the field foundation.

“I saw the church, and the sun shone towards the church, and it’s so beautiful,” said Nyström, agent of the municipal heritage of Kiruna In this case Guest host Catherine Cullen on Tuesday.

“And then it really struck me, like, it’s something very emotional.”

‘It’s a strange thing and a great thing’

The 113 -year -old Kiruna church – called Kiruna Kyrka in Swedish – started her trip on Tuesday and arrived at her new house on Wednesday.

But it took almost a decade of preparation to reach this point.

Hiss on a cart specially designed with 224 wheels, and led by a driver with a joystick, the 672 -ton building rolled at a speed of 0.5 kilometer on a road which was extended to incorporate its width of 40 meters.

The trip took 12 hours spread over two days, with daily breaks for FIKA, the traditional Swedish coffee break.

Look | A timelapse of “the great distance from the church”:

Timelapse images shows the Swedish church slowed down to the new location

Thousands of people gathered this week in the northern city of Sweden, Kiruna, to watch his emblematic church move slowly on the wheels to her new house at five kilometers. The two -day live event – nicknamed “The Big Church Move” – ​​marks an important step in the process of several years of the city to move completely so that it is not swallowed by an iron ore.

Thousands of people bordered the streets on Tuesday to teach him goodbye, while others watched the event live via the SVT, the public broadcaster of Sweden.

The Swedish king Carl XVI Gustaf was on site for sending, which presented a musical performance of Kaj, the Swedish entrance in Eurovision in 2025.

Some people have traveled other cities and countries to see the spectacle slow in the city of around 23,000 people about 200 kilometers above the Arctic circle.

Swedish spectator Johan Arveli says he has traveled 10 hours to be part of the event, which he expects years to see.

“I had to see it because it is a strange thing and a great thing,” he said.

“Everyone has a link with the Church”

For Residents of Kiruna, the move, has a much deeper meaning.

“Everyone has a link with the Church,” said Nyström.

Built in 1912 as a gift from LKAB, public mining society, the Swedish Lutheran church was designed to imitate a traditional TREETemporary accommodation similar to a tent used by the people who are indigenous, many of whom call Kiruna at home.

The worshiper Anna-Kristina Simma, who is Sámi, says that the building is a pillar of everyone’s life, even if they do not go to weekly services.

“You start when you were a child, baby, all your life until you get older,” she said.

Nyström also feels a special link with the church, where his own children were baptized.

“I like to be in there, alone inside,” she said. “When you enter and you have this smell, like the smell of wood, it’s just the feeling of the church. I love it.”

Before closing its doors last year in preparation for this decision, 20 Kiruna couples got married there in a day in a large whirlwind of weddings.

‘Leave the old Kiruna behind’

Kiruno is home to the largest underground iron ore in the world, which provides around 80% of the European Union iron ore, and is now considering rare earth elements used in the manufacture of wind turbines and electric vehicles.

For years, the mine has developed, causing land deformations that crack the foundations of local buildings and endangering the city. Thus, in 2004, the residents of Kiruna voted to move the entire community about three kilometers.

Some residents criticize the continuous expansion of the mine, saying that it will threaten the reindeer migration routes and jeopardize the means of subsistence of breeders in the region.

“I feel a little, a little disgusted, in fact, because they pay millions of dollars … in this project, by moving the church, but they do not help us to have our culture,” said Lars-Marcus Kuhmunen, president of one of Sami’s breeding organizations in Kiruna.

“Even 50 years ago, my great-grandfather said that the mine was going to eat our lifestyle, our Rennes breeding, and he was right.”

Stefan Holmblad Johansson, LKAB project manager for the move, would not say how much he cost the mining company.

Kiruna’s relocation started 10 years ago and should continue until 2035.

Most of the city’s 1,100 buildings are demolished and rebuilt, while some others, like the church, are uprooted and rolled towards the new site.

The church move, known as Nyström, marks the end of an era for Kiruna, but also inaugurates a new start.

“The inhabitants of Kiruna must sacrifice so much. We sacrifice our city,” said Nyström. “It leaves the old Kiruna behind.”

It will take about two years before the church of Kiruna once again opened to the public. Nyström is looking forward to entering familiar space.

“I think the smell will be the same,” she said.

With files from the Associated Press and Reuters. Interview with Clara Nyström produced by Livia Dyring