Fans of the hit series Extreme Home Makeover from the US are used to that familiar shout from Ty Pennington "Move that bus!" now residents in Kiruna, above the Arctic Circle, are getting used to "Move that house!" instead.
The LKAB iron ore mine is what keeps Kiruna going, and as they are digging further down the seam there is a grave danger that the mine could cause some of the town to collapse. So they have decided to move the town. The town planners have a major challenge on their hands, with some buildings being demolished but some being moved plank by plank, or moving complete buildings to another part of town.
Did you know you can also visit the Iron Ore mine on a trip to Kiruna? Enjoy a 2 hour guided tour down one of the world's largest iron-ore mine. Explore part of the tunnel system, not all of it as there is over 400 kms of road in the mine. A truly fascinating trip.
Nearby is the famous and original ICEHOTEL The hotel is a commendable example of responsible tourism in practice - it certainly takes the phrase to "reduce, re-use and re-cycle" to extreme. Each year the ICEHOTEL is built of snow and ice and simply melts back into the Torne River. The ICEHOTEL has also started to implement an extensive renewable energy scheme.
They also produce over half a million ice glasses to ship around the world including the IceBar in London. Does the carbon footprint balance out the recycling? An interesting thought for discussion.
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