0:00
This isn't something you see every day. This 113-year-old church in northern Sweden is slowly
0:05
being moved, fully intact, to a new location to save it from a crumbling foundation and make way
0:11
for the world's largest iron ore mine. The more than 700-ton church will eventually be placed in
0:19
Kiruna's new city center as part of a 30-year mass relocation effort in the city. Many buildings
0:24
have already been moved or demolished due to fissures in the ground caused by iron ore mining
0:30
Engineers say these cracks aren't likely to swallow a person whole, but they would eventually damage critical water and electricity lines
0:37
Workers lifted the massive church from its foundation and carried it off using self-propelled machinery as people watched from a distance
0:45
Officials say they widened the road by removing street lamps and lamps along the route to make way for the structure
0:50
It's slated to be put in place Wednesday, just a three-mile journey
0:54
But the delicate process means it must be transported slowly, which is why the move is going to take two days
1:00
It's similar to an effort in Manhattan nearly two decades ago. In 2008, the National Park Service moved founding father Alexander Hamilton's home back to its original estate through the streets of New York
1:12
His home, known as the Grange, remained fully intact as it was propped up and transported across a steel track
1:18
The planning took about a month, but the job only took a few hours. The Grange was originally moved in 1889 as the city planned to demolish it to make room for new streets
1:28
A church bought it and relocated it a few blocks away, saving it from destruction before it was eventually bought by the government for preservation efforts
1:36
Now it's back on the Hamilton Estate in St. Nicholas Park. For more on this story, download the Street Arrow News app or visit san.com
