The ash graveyard at Kiruna cemetery a black building - must be demolished

On the fifteenth of October this year, the county administrative board rejected an application for a new ash burial ground and an open chapel. And it is especially the ceremony site that is not accepted and is considered to have a negative impact on the cultural heritage values ​​of the cemetery.

But the problem is that the Kiruna pastorate has already built the ash burial ground and the open chapel and also buried 20 urns - without permission.

- We will probably order them to remove the ceremony site and come in with a new proposal. It is a great pity for it to trouble and make it expensive for themselves. They have been in a very sad situation, says Jeanette Aro, antiquarian at the county administrative board.

She says that the county administrative board can accept the ash pit in retrospect, but not the open chapel.

And she is critical that urns were gifted there without permission.

- You should not bury urns without permission, says Jeanette Aro.

Hans Stridsman, Kiruna pastorate's property manager, acknowledges without fail that the church administration made a big mistake.

- I can only apologize for not thinking about the condition simply. You are almost ashamed. Of course, we should remember that a permit is required for this. Now it is as it is and we can only regret that we have not done right.

He and chambers Roland Rova will now write an appeal to the administrative court.

- We will explain how we have thought, but if it is not accepted then we must probably tear down the post office, seek another condition and build a new one. It feels unnecessary and gives us an extra cost of some SEK 100,000, but it can be so, says Tommy Stridsman.

Sirpa Bäckström (S), chairman of Kiruna's church council, has recently received information about the so-called black building.

- The situation that has arisen is very unfortunate. We got this to ourselves in the church council's work committee last week.

How could this happen?

- Yes, say so. I suppose this kind of thing works, but in this case, it obviously has not, she says.