An entire city in Sweden is SINKING into the ground
KIRUNA in Sweden is being physically relocated.
Kiruna in Sweden is entirely relocating
Kiruna is a mining city in the north of Sweden and it¹s found itself in a bit of a pickle.
The mine was founded in 1900 and it¹s been an industrial town every since, with around 18,000 people living there quite comfortably.
But over the years the mine has expanded deep into the ground and now this is causing a huge problem.
Kiruna is now sitting on a sinkhole of its own making.
Kiruna is the 2nd largest municipality in the world
Without taking action, the ground would subside and the city would absolutely collapse over the next century.
So the people of Sweden are taking action before it¹s too late: they’re moving the town themselves.
The city centre is relocating to two miles down the road.
How do you move an entire city?
The entire city of Kiruna is relocating.
The town's historical buildings and monuments are being physically relocated (carefully), but much of the town is being demolished.
The current town hall is one of the buildings that hasn’t made the new city.
Kiruna citizens who have found that their owns are set to be demolished have been offered either 125 per cent of the market value or they’ll be given a free home in the new city centre location.
Some residents are skeptical of the offer and don’t think the mine has enough money to pay for everyone to be relocated.
Sweden's famous ice hotel is near Kiruna
All 18,000 residents of Kiruna are relocating
The city has a 20-year plan to relocate its residents, but the impact on the rest of the city is huge. It’s not just about moving a few buildings.
The move means that some companies and residential areas will no longer be walking distance from the town centre, whereas other areas might find that their rents increase because they’re closer to the centre.
While structure relocation isn’t unusual, London's Marble Arch was famously moved to Hyde Park in 1851, moving huge chunks of a city is a different matter entirely.
This small mining town might well become a tourist attraction in its own right, with people from all over the world wanting to get a glimpse of the city that moved itself two miles down the road.