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With great fanfare, a historic red wooden church considered one of Sweden's most beautiful buildings began its slow move from its home in the Arctic town of Kiruna on Tuesday to allow the expansion of Europe's biggest underground mine.

Kiruna's entire town center is being moved because of the giant LKAB iron ore mine that dominates the region, whose ever-deeper burrowing over the years has weakened the ground, increasing the risk of collapse in some parts.

Kiruna Kyrka, an imposing 672-tonne Swedish Lutheran church from 1912, is being moved five kilometers (three miles) on remote-controlled flatbed trailers, inching along at a pace of half a kilometer an hour over two days to the new Kiruna town.

The complex and costly logistical operation kicked off after a blessing by Bishop Asa Nystrom and Vicar Lena Tjarnberg, with the trailers' 220 wheels slowly pulling out under sunny blue skies.

One of the trickiest parts of the meticulously choreographed journey was the start, officials said, with the 1,200-tonne convoy required to make a turn and roll down a slight incline to reach the main road it was to travel on.

In preparation, the ground around the church had been dug out, allowing big yellow beams to be placed underneath so the building could be jacked up on the trailers.

'Unique Event'

The move has generated widespread interest, with more than 10,000 people expected to line the streets of the town of 18,000 people.

King Carl XVI Gustaf was due to take part in the festivities in Kiruna. And Swedish television was broadcasting the entire journey live, a new iteration of the "slow TV" trend, with 30 cameras set up along the route.

The town's relocation process began almost two decades ago and is expected to continue for years to come. The new town center was officially inaugurated in September 2022.

The relocation of the church alone is expected to cost 500 million kronor ($52 million) and is being paid for by LKAB.

Designed by Swedish architect Gustaf Wickman, the imposing structure, which measures 40 meters (131 feet) tall, is a mix of influences and includes designs inspired by the region's Indigenous Sami people on the pews.

The neo-Gothic exterior features slanting roofs and windows on each side, while its dark interior has elements of national romanticism as well as an Art Nouveau altarpiece.

LKAB has called the relocation "a unique event in world history."

Other larger, heavier objects have been moved before, but usually in ports or industrial areas, not through small towns.

The roads on the route have been widened over the past year, from nine to 24 meters, and leveled to provide a smooth ride.

'Not Just any Building'

Elisabeth Turq, a 66-year-old French tourist who travelled to Kiruna to follow the move, was in awe.

"It's quite remarkable to be able to move such a building," she told AFP.

Swedish Sami author Ann-Helen Laestadius, a Kiruna native best known for her novel "Stolen," which was made into a Netflix drama last year, said she had mixed feelings.

"I'm glad the church is being moved... anything else would have been a scandal," she told SVT. "It's such a big part of Kiruna's soul.

"I was baptized, confirmed and married in this church," she said.

"But it is extremely difficult to see your town disappear," she added, lamenting the loss of other landmarks razed in the town's move.

The company offered to financially compensate those affected by the town's relocation or rebuild their homes or buildings.

"But when it came to the church, we decided it was best to move it in one piece," LKAB project manager Stefan Holmblad Johansson told AFP, saying the move was being handled "with great reverence."

"This is not just any building; it's a church."

Workers meticulously wrapped and protected both the church's large organ, with its more than 2,000 pipes, and the altarpiece, painted by Sweden's Prince Eugen (1865-1947), a pastel landscape inspired by his trips to Italy's Tuscany and western Sweden.

The bell tower, which stands separately next to the church, will be moved next week.

AFP