In a “unique in the world” event, a Swedish town is moving its entire historic church, all 672 tons of materials, down the road to a new address.

The move is necessary to protect it from falling into a sinkhole, the result of the expansion of an underground iron mine. The church won’t be alone in its relocation, and in fact dozens of buildings will be moved over the next 10 years.

Kiruna Kyrka was built in 1912 for the Lutheran community of Kiruna. It was designed to look like a “lavvu” or a hut of the Sami People, Europe’s only recognized indigenous group who graze reindeer in the surrounding grasslands.

The state-owned mining company LKAB was granted approval for the mine’s expansion over 20 years ago, and part of the agreement was either the compensation or physical relocation of every building within the part of the town that would be undermined.

For the Kyrka, workers tunneled under the floorplan to place a grid of beams that would fit onto a series of trailers. When it came time to move the first few feet, a remarkable turnout had arrived.

10,000 people lined recently-widened roads to watch the Kyrka inch forward at 0.2 miles per hour, including the King Carl Gustav XVI. Inside, the 2,000-pipe-church organ was specially wrapped and packaged in situ, as was a large pastel centerpiece painted by the king’s great uncle, Prince Eugen.

The bell tower, which is a separate structure, is due to move tomorrow.

An operator stands in front of the church as it moves to control the 224 wheels on the trailers below, a little like a man with a giant, incredibly slow, remote-controlled car.

Although the central part of the move, the Kyrka is just one of 24 cultural buildings in the Arctic town that will be moved. Tens of millions of dollars have been allocated by LKAB for moving and compensation for buildings that remain.

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The company’s chief executive told local reporters that without its historic church, which the Guardian described as one of Sweden’s most beloved antique buildings, there could never be a town of Kiruna. Moving it was the best, only, and imperative option.

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