Video allegedly shows Norwegian church being relocated. That’s almost right

In late August 2025 a video (archived) circulated online claiming to authentically show a church in Norway being relocated.

The sped-up footage appeared to show an entire church building with a reddish facade moving down the length of a highway. One X user captioned the video, “A church in Norway being relocated.”

(X user @gunsnrosesgirl3)

Clips of the surreal moving project also circulated on Facebook (archived) and Bluesky (archived).

The footage of the church relocation was authentic, meaning not created with or altered by artificial intelligence. However, the video showed the planned relocation of Kiruna Church through the city of Kiruna in Sweden, not Norway. The specific clip in question showed the church moving east on Lomboleden, a road on the outskirts of Kiruna. Therefore, we rate this claim mostly true.

According to Kiruna Kommun, the city’s governing authority, the move took place on Aug. 19 and 20. Swedish and international media reported that the church arrived in its new location as planned on Aug. 20. Interested members of the public were invited to watch the move either in person or via livestream by Sweden’s SVT broadcaster.

Authorities in Kiruna said they decided to move the more-than-650-ton landmark church in its entirety because ground subsidence threatened the church’s old plot. Kiruna is home to the world’s largest underground iron ore mine.

SVT reported that the church reached its new location in the east of the city at around 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 20. Engineers would continue to make adjustments to the church’s orientation on its new plot in the following days, according to the report.

LKAB, the mining company in Kiruna that paid to relocate the church, said the move cost around 500,000,000 SEK, or just over $50,000,000.

Sources