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A church in Sweden is being relocated down the road in one piece

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Above the Arctic Circle in Sweden, a historic church is making big moves - the whole church in one piece.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Today, after one last blessing, the 113-year-old Kiruna church began its journey. It's all part of a much larger project to move the entire city center because an iron ore mine has destabilized the land.

SHAPIRO: Now, moving an entire wooden building is a logistical feat to say the least. It took years of preparation. Engineers hoisted the church onto self-propelled modular transporters supported by big steel beams. They also needed to prepare the road.

KELLY: Which they did by widening the road by almost 80 feet - also removing lamp posts and traffic lights.

SHAPIRO: The church isn't actually going very far - just five kilometres, or just over three miles away, but it's expected to move at a pace of less than a mile per hour. Swedish television is airing the entire road trip. So if all goes well, the church will arrive at its new home sometime tomorrow.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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Justine Kenin
Justine Kenin is an editor on All Things Considered. She joined NPR in 1999 as an intern. Nothing makes her happier than getting a book in the right reader's hands – most especially her own.