This weekend’s program brings together personal cultural immersion and dramatic Scandinavian history. Our 2025 scholarship recipient, Candace Peterson-Kolenda, will share her experience at Sjölunden, the Swedish camp of Concordia Language Villages. Through immersive language learning, Swedish meals, music, and traditions, Sjölunden offers participants the rare opportunity to live Swedish culture rather than simply study it. Candace will describe daily life at camp, how the experience strengthened her language skills, and what it meant to represent SCS as last year’s scholarship recipient.
Each year, SCS invests in two of our members by helping fund this transformative experience. Candace’s reflections will give members a vivid sense of the camp’s atmosphere and impact — and may inspire others to consider applying for a future scholarship. If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to step into a Swedish-speaking world right here in Minnesota, this is your chance to hear about it firsthand.
In the second half of the program, Dale Sohlstrom will present on the remarkable relocation of Kiruna, a mining town in northern Sweden undergoing one of the most ambitious urban transformations in modern Europe. Beginning in 2014, Kiruna has been gradually moving sections of its town center to allow for the continued expansion of its iron ore mine. Entire neighborhoods, historic structures — including its iconic Kiruna Church — along with roads and infrastructure, are being carefully relocated in a decades-long process. The scale is immense, and the engineering challenges are extraordinary.
The move of Kiruna Church alone is a remarkable story. Built in 1912 and widely regarded as one of Sweden’s most beautiful buildings, the wooden church could not simply be demolished and rebuilt without losing its historic character. Engineers first had to reinforce the entire structure internally and externally, stabilizing walls, rooflines, and the tall central tower. Specialized lifting frames were constructed beneath the building, distributing weight evenly to prevent warping or cracking of the timber structure. Streets along the relocation route had to be widened and cleared, underground utilities temporarily rerouted, and a carefully engineered transport platform designed to carry the church intact to its new site. The timing of the move, ground stability, and even seasonal conditions were carefully considered to minimize vibration and structural stress. What appears to be a single building moving is, in reality, a coordinated choreography of structural engineering, urban planning, heritage preservation, and community emotion.
Dale will also draw a compelling comparison to the historic relocation of Hibbing between 1919 and 1921, when much of that Iron Range town was moved to accommodate mining expansion. Many Minnesotans are familiar with Hibbing’s story; seeing it alongside Kiruna’s modern relocation offers fascinating perspective on industry, community resilience, and the preservation of identity in the face of change.
Together, these presentations offer something for everyone: personal cultural enrichment, Swedish language inspiration, historical perspective, and a look at one of the great engineering stories of our time. We hope you’ll join us for an engaging and meaningful program this weekend.
Guest Policy – Guests are absolutely welcome to join us for our programs. You’ll be treated to Fika (coffee and treats) for free. Invite your friends as well. Just let the greeter know that you heard about the event online and that you’d like to be a guest. We look forward to seeing you and hearing about your nordic heritage or interest in nordic culture.