200 kilometres...

above the Arctic Circle...

-...and Swedens most northern city.

Few Swedes

have been this far north.

We sure haven't - we're from the south.

From mid December and almost

a month ahead the sun never rises.

That's me - Henrik. I'm a videographer.

We came here to find out

why you'd want to move a city...

...and how the fudge it's done.

This is Johanna, one of the 18,000 residents.

This is her father - Janne.

This is her grandfather,

and this is her grandfathers uncle.

This is their family store.

Kiruna is also the home of a great mine - distant but always present.

It has been the eye and foundation

of the city for more than a century.

The process started in 2004 when LKAB informed-

-that we needed to move if they

should be able to continue mining.

The mine has always worked in symbiosis with Kiruna.

The mine is the reason

that Kiruna is placed where it is.

It was never an option to close the mine.

This is our equivalent to a bike

and we use it in winter time.

It's called a "spark".

Is it true that Kiruna is the largest municipality in the world?

We were actually

the largest in the world-

-but then two municipalities in Australia merged to create one.

With some cheating the Australians

beat us, but we're number two!

We decided to go for a drive in the land of Volvo-

-to check out

this huge municipality.

Johanna and her father are

preparing to move the family store-

-as is every other store in the current city centre.

In fact,

they cannot stay much longer-

-or the store just might fall 2,000 meters down into the abyss.

Abyss? Now, here's the thing...

Extracting iron ore

makes the city deform-

-and the city has to move three kilometres east.

A few buildings will be moved.

The rest will be demolished and rebuilt.

While being shown around the mine by LKAB-

-we got stuck up on the freezing top

of the iron ore mountain.

-That's great shoes you've got there. -Thanks, man!

-Not like mine...

-A little action is all you need.

My hat's falling off.

Iron ore is the most widely used metal in the world.

Refined into steel

it's the framework and skeleton-

-for stadiums, cars, skyscrapers and agrimotors, like this one.

The state-owned LKAB

is the company that runs the mine-

-and pays for the move of the city centre.

The world's largest

urban relocation.

The moving of the city has started.

It will continue for about 20-30 years forward in time.

When LKAB extracts iron ore

it affects the surface.

Every time a bucketful of ore is removed from the mine-

-some of the waste rock above falls

and the surface subsides.

This is known as ground deformation-

-and is why the city centre

of Kiruna has to move.

This is the purest iron ore in the world.

Ironically, to get the purest stuff

you have to go all the way down.

To the bottom.

Kiruna was founded as a city back in the year 1900-

-by LKAB's managing director

Hjalmar Lundbohm.

Nowadays LKAB is one of Sweden's biggest taxpayers-

-and holds 90 percent

of the iron ore market in the EU.

While deposits from other mining companies may be at 30-40 percent-

-the purity of the Kiruna iron

is at 65-70 percent.

Worth moving a city for.

[Explosion]

We woke up in the middle of the night.

At breakfast we talked to the great

chef to find out what was going on.

It's always after twelve o'clock when they are blowing in the mine.

No way! I'm used to it. I've lived here all my life. I'm 45 years old.

Yeah. I don't mind at all. I don't hear it.

When facing one of the biggest urban transformations of our time-

-there are a lot of things

to think about.

The Architecture Firm White has been hired to link it all together.

Shall we head to the church?

Here we are at the Kiruna church.

It was voted as Sweden's

most beautiful building in 2001.

So they love their church, and I love the church.

Hi!

-One, three!

-You cheated! You bastard!

The church is one of few buildings that are actually gonna be lifted-

-and moved on trucks or cranes

to the new city centre.

The biggest challenge that's facing us is not the design of a new city-

-which is sustainable and attractive

and modern.

The biggest challenge is to move the minds of the people and the culture.

Every decision we take as architects-

-has a future life attached to it

for a hundred years forward.

This is what it's all about - iron ore.

The purest in the world.

Worth moving a whole city for.

-Looks a bit like deer poo.

-Yeah, it does!

This is how the move works:

LKAB buys your home

for market price, plus 25 percent.

Or they give you a new home in a new part of town.

Then your home and neighbourhood

is demolished.

Johannas new home is located at a safe distance from the mine...

...at least with today's forecasts.

Even these are Volvos.

Behind us is the new city centre.

It seems pretty random still.

Just pick a location. At least it's at a safe distance from the mine...

...and the sinkholes.

- Supposedly.

This is where it's all gonna be:

Johanna's and Janne's store Centrum-

-the old church, the old clocktower, and the new city hall-

-which you can already

see the foundation to.

This is the city I am born and raised in.

It's really important for me

that the surroundings-

-will be as much the same as they are today - even better.

I'm not sure why I love the weather so. I love the midnight sun.

I love the darkness of winter

and I love the snow.

I just love the snow. I love sculpting, designing and creating in snow.

It's my favourite medium to work with

as an architect. Pure form.

-Like a good piece of music.

-Or a good meal.

-Or a good piece of city?

-Haha. Like a good city it doesn't last.

That was easy.

This is Henrik and Johan,

reporting for Sweden.se.

Thank you for watching!