New Home for an Old Church

Heuersdorf is a small German town near Leipzig. The entire town is being abandoned as a nearby lignite, or brown coal, mine expands. The community decided to save the 13th-century Emmaus Church and move it to another place. The area surrounding the church was cleared and cracks within the building's structure were repaired with concrete. Engineers then wrapped the church in four steel corsets and painstakingly put a steel-and-concrete base under the church. The church was lifted using hydraulic lifts to make room to move in an enormous, multi-wheeled transport bed. Additional preparations for the €3 million move included repairing roads, diverting small rivers and taking down power, phone and traffic lines. After the 12 km (7.5 mile) trip that lasted 6 days it has been relocated to the nearby town of Borna, right next to one of that town's churches.