Historic church begins two-day journey across Swedish city

Kiruna church is being moved on a specially designed trolley

An historic church in Sweden is being moved three miles in a two day operation.

The big wooden church in the city of Kiruna was built between 1909 and 1912.

With the old city centre at risk from the expansion of an underground mine, the church is the biggest structure to be moved.

It weighs 600 tonnes and is being moved slowly on a specially constructed trailer.

Travelling at a maximum speed of 500m an hour, the journey is expected to take two days.

While the sight of the church being moved might look strange, it is not the only landmark to be relocated.

Read on to learn about more unusual moves from bridges to temples.

Abu Simbel temples, Egypt

In the early 1960s a team of engineers carefully disassembled, and piece by piece moved each of these ancient temples in Egypt.

With the construction of a dam the Abu Simbel Temples were at risk of flooding from the Nile river's rising waters.

Unesco, a part of the United Nations which looks after very old sites like this launched the project to save the temples which were built in the 13th Century BC.

A group of hydrologists, engineers, archaeologists and other professionals cut both temples into precise blocks which were then numbered and carefully reassembled on higher ground.

London Bridge, USA

Ah yes the famous London Bridge of... Arizona!?

In fact there have been many London Bridges, but this one was built in the 1830s and crossed the river Thames in London England.

By 1962 it was considered not strong enough to carry the increased traffic so was sold to a property developer who was creating a city in Arizona, USA.

While it looks the same it was only the outer stones which were transported overseas, each one carefully numbered, to cover the structure.

At first the new bridge crossed desert with a canal later constructed so it crossed water.

Ballingdon Hall, UK

Moving house took on a new meaning when the owners of Ballingdon Hall in Suffolk decided to move the entire house to a different location.

With the A131 road improved and the nearby town of Sudbury getting busier, the owners wanted a different view.

So in 1972, the 16th century manor house was moved around 200 yards up the hill.

Unlike other buildings, because the house was protected the only way it could be moved was in one piece.

The whole thing was put on steel joists with wheels underneath and wheeled up the hill.