AFP reported that perched on a hill by the iron ore mine it was once built around, the sleepy northerly Swedish town of Kiruna is in the process of reinventing itself. It has to: in 4 years, it will have moved somewhere else.
At the turn of the 19th century the area consisted of a handful of ramshackle buildings and traditional lavoo, the dwellings of the indigenous Sami population that are similar to the teepee used by American Indians.
But with large scale mining came wealth and the town prospered, climbing further up the slope as new workers arrived and older neighborhoods were abandoned when the mine began to encroach on them.
The fortunes of the 23,000 strong town are still tied to what is now the largest iron ore mine in the world, extracting enough in a day to build more than 6 Eiffel Towers, together with neighboring Malmberget.
As LKAB's extraction moves deeper it's now at a depth of 4 kilometers and closer to the town, cracks have begun to appear underground.
Ms Ulrika Isaksson a spokeswoman for the municipality said that "There was an uproar when we found out. A press release went out saying that the whole town had to move."
It turned out that only the buildings within a 1 kilometer radius from the mine were affected, but that included most of the town center.
Deputy mayor Mr Niklas Siren of the Left Party said that "It's only 35% of the town's total area."
Most buildings will simply be torn down, forcing their inhabitants to relocate, but some of those seen as being Kiruna landmarks will be dismantled and reassembled in their entirety at new locations.
Ms Isaksson said that "The town center will shift around three kilometers to the northeast. In 4 years, things could become very sentimental" since that is when the move will become visible, referring to when the 1960s era town hall and the houses around it will be torn down. After that it will be time for the train station and the main town square to relocate, and around 20 years from now the moving of Kiruna's church will mark the final phase of the project.
The imposing red, wooden building whose exterior is designed to resemble a Sami lavoo, has become the pride of Kiruna's inhabitants. It was a gift from LKAB in 1912, illustrating the company's central role in the town's history.
She said that "2,500 apartments will have to move," not to mention hotels and commercial properties.
Mr Siren said that the move is not just about recreating Kiruna 3 kilometers up the road, but also about reinventing the town. We are going to build the best possible town center, vibrant, sustainable and modern.
Although LKAB is paying for all the land it will use, the municipality is responsible for the urban planning of the new town. Next year it will choose an architect firm.
