A Unique Altarpiece on the Move: Special Tours and Extended Opening Hours

When the Kiruna church is making its spectacular move, 19-20 August, from its low mountain location to its new home, its famous altarpiece, painted by Prince Eugen (1865-1946), will stay in the church and make the move with it. The unusual altarpiece, which has no cross or biblical figures, is travelling with the church because it is glued to the wall and impossible to remove. At the centre of the painting is a brightly lit grove of trees in a field. It is a quiet, southern landscape far from the mountain world of Kiruna. Here it is nature that is animated and carries the spirituality. Perhaps this is also a glimpse of the Kiruna landscape of the future that the prince has unintentionally managed to depict, a landscape that is being reshaped from below not only by mining but also by climate change, which brings with it a completely different flora.

In the exhibition The Sun Picture—Matts Leiderstam, Prince Eugen's Altarpiece and the Move of Kiruna Church, the artist Matts Leiderstam has immersed himself in the history of the painting's creation, with a particular interest in the prince's sketches and ideas. A 1:1 scale sketch is on display in the town hall. Through his own painting and based on a long-standing fascination with the view of the landscape, Matts studies how light, especially sunlight, shapes the altarpiece.

During the two days when the church is travelling through Kiruna, Kin will extend the opening hours of the museum located in the town hall. Guided tours in Swedish and English are offered and the 5th floor is opened up for the opportunity to see the church being put in its new place.

Opening hours 18-20 August

Monday 18 August 12:00-20:00
Tuesday 19 August 12:00-20:00
Wednesday 20 August 10:00-18:00

See the last stage of the church move from the best viewpoint in Kiruna

From 15:00 to 18:00 on Wednesday 20 August, Kin will open the doors on the 5th floor of the town hall, where visitors can watch the church being put down in its new location. Free admission, coffee and tea will be provided.

Guided tours of the exhibition

Monday 18 August
12:00 (Swe) 15:00 (Eng) 18:00 (Swe)

Tuesday 19 August
13:00 (Swe) 17:00 (Eng)

Wednesday 20 August
10:00 (Eng) 12:00 (Swe)

Image 1: Prins Eugen. Altarpiece in Kiruna. Sketch, 1911.
Image 2: Matts Leiderstam.