Thousands of Kiruna residents have gathered outside the church, where the atmosphere is tense but upbeat. The sun shines on the lawn in front of the large screen that will ensure everyone can follow the church's progress in detail. The barriers are large and only authorized personnel are allowed to be closer to the church.
The church is being moved in one piece and stands on a trailer with over 220 wheels, and constitutes an enormous convoy that will be pushed through Kiruna. The 40 by 40 meter large building weighs 672 tons.
After a few minutes of travel, the first challenge for the massive convoy came: to turn. Slowly, almost so slow that the movement was not noticeable at first, the trailer with its 228 wheels began to turn the church down towards the road, while men in reflective vests and white helmets ran around with their measuring tapes and checked everything in detail.
It's going so slow that I don't see it moving, said a man in the audience, referring to the leisurely pace.
Narrow passages
In response to TT's question about what will be the most difficult part of the day, Kjell Olovsson, project manager at the main contractor Veidekke, says:
It's really just that we're going to do what we've trained for. Stick to our procedures and make all our measurements, and it will go smoothly.
Is there any particularly difficult part of the road?
There are a few narrow passages, but we've measured them several times.
Two sides
Just before the colossal moving convoy began to roll very slowly, the church and its route were blessed by Lena Tjärnberg, vicar of Kiruna parish, and Åsa Nyström, bishop of Luleå diocese.
We are exhilarated and happy to be here today, but I also think that people will be sad because we are leaving such a fine place. As a vicar, I have to take care of both sides, says Lena Tjärnberg.
This is not just a matter for Kiruna, but for the entire Church of Sweden, and for the world as you see, says Bishop Åsa Nyström, referring to all the international press present.
The move of the church is part of the larger relocation of Kiruna city center, forced by the mining in LKAB's iron ore mine, which affects the ground in the area.
Corrected version: In an earlier version, the weight of the church was incorrectly stated (the numbers were mixed up).
