A few weeks ago, we shared a blog post about Kiruna, a city in northern Sweden that is being recreated in the upcoming Nordic Horizons DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2. Since then, we've learnt some fascinating news: Kiruna's 113-year-old wooden church was relocated due to the nearby underground mine. We thought this incredible real-world move deserved a closer look - so today we're bringing you the story behind this remarkable transportation and how we quickly decided to reflect it in the game as well!
Kiruna is known, among many other things, as the home of the world's largest underground iron ore mine. As we mentioned before, this massive site will appear as a depot in the upcoming map expansion - our very first underground depot in ETS2.
However, the mine's ongoing expansion has put parts of the city at risk, including its most iconic landmark: the wooden church built between 1909 and 1912, once voted Sweden's most beautiful building. To preserve the town's heritage, a new city center was constructed, featuring the carefully restored and relocated historic clock tower. The next step was even more ambitious - moving the 672-tonne church.
After months of preparation and safety testing, the church was relocated in August by the Dutch logistics company Mammoet. In its entirety, it traveled roughly five kilometers on steel beams carried by two trains of 28-axle Self-Propelled Modular Transporters, over the course of two days. At nearly 40 meters wide, the move was an extraordinary feat of engineering, requiring even the roads to be widened in advance. Thanks to meticulous planning, the church reached its new home successfully.
We couldn't overlook such an incredible achievement and knew it had to be represented in-game. Our research team gathered visual plans of the new site, allowing us to prototype the area and the church's placement. From there, our talented assets team built the model, and our map designers updated the city of Kiruna with its newly relocated landmark. The whole process took about seven days, bringing this historic move into Euro Truck Simulator 2.
We're happy that we were able to relocate the church in time for the upcoming map expansion, allowing it to shine in its new home within the game as well!
If you are looking forward to exploring Kiruna yourself, make sure to add the Nordic Horizons map expansion to your Steam Wishlist! Stay tuned for more updates from this map expansion by following us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube, or by signing up for our newsletter. Until next time, we will see you on the road!