Mammoet has relocated the Kiruna Church, one of Sweden’s most treasured architectural landmarks built in the early 20th century. The operation, which took place over two days, required over 1,000 hours of planning and engineering, with the move being dubbed ‘The Great Church Walk’.
Once voted Sweden’s most beautiful building, Kiruna Church is one of the country’s largest wooden structures. The expansion of LKAB’s Kiruna mine meant the structure, along with several other buildings, had to be moved to a newly developed city centre 5 km away.
Commissioned by civil engineering firm Veidekke and LKAB, Mammoet was entrusted with transporting the 713-tonne wooden church in one piece – a project that drew in thousands of spectators, including the King of Sweden.
Working with Veidekke and Swedish wood engineering specialists to model and test the building’s response to lifting and transport, the operation was scheduled for August to avoid adverse weather conditions that could jeopardise the move. The route was also carefully analysed and prepared, including temporary road widening and compacting work. Mammoet advised on these civil works and conducted road tests using SPMTs loaded with counterweights to simulate the church’s axle load.
For the operation, the church was jacked up to a height of 1.3 m and placed on steel beams supported by two trains of 28 axle lines of SPMTs. A custom monitoring system developed in-house ensured the structure remained stable throughout the journey, allowing for a maximum tilt of just 7.5 cm between sides.
During daylight hours on August 19 and 20, the SPMTs moved the church to its new location, where SPMTs lowered the structure onto concrete foundations.
In the coming days, Mammoet will also relocate the church’s 90-tonne belfry using a different SPMT configuration.
“This project exemplifies the importance of detailed engineering and planning in executing unique and meaningful moves,” said William Soeters, project manager at Mammoet.
