In the far north of Sweden, 125 miles above the Arctic Circle, sits Kiruna Church, once voted the most beautiful building in the country. The cozy terracotta-colored church, with its fairytale rooftop points, is designed to resemble a hut of the indigenous Sámi people. It opened in 1912, with almost no religious symbols, and is described as “the living room of the community.” Unfortunately, the church has to go. In 2026, the entire 600-ton wooden building will be loaded onto trailers and moved to a new spot near the local graveyard. It’s just one large, technically tricky piece of a project to move the entire town of Kiruna to a new home, 1.9 miles east of the old town. Billed as the world’s most radical relocation project, Kiruna is moving because subsidence from the local iron ore mine is threatening to swallow the town. Cracks have already appeared in the hospital, and the school is no longer safe for its students. The town has a population of 18,000, and its fate has been intertwined with that of the mine since it was founded in 1900. Run by state-owned LKAB, the mine is the largest iron ore mine in the world, producing 80% of the European Union’s supply. Centuries before LKAB began tearing up the earth, Sámi people were herding reindeer throughout the Arctic lands. Now they fear that way of life – already threatened by the climate crisis, which is making it harder for reindeer to find their main winter food source (lichen) – is coming under more pressure. Two Sámi villages have had to change their reindeer herding routes since the mine opened in 1900. About 6,000 people are due to move. Tenants will see their rents gradually rise over 8 years to a cap of 25% higher than the old rate. The mining company had no choice but to raise rents to upgrade the 1960s housing stock. The work may not be completed until 2035. While the people don’t like having to move, they have had to accept it.
