Geotechnical problems encountered in moving the church at Most

The present paper describes the transfer of a Gothic church in the town of Most from a site where exploitation of brown coal in an openpit mine is envisaged. In moving the building, the structure 30 m × 60 m in plan, weighing 10 000 t, was loaded on 53 transport cars and transported on a curved track for a distance of 842 m. On a 200 m long sector of the track the cars had to pass over an old openpit mine up to 34 m deep refilled with a heterogeneous fill. In order to avoid excess settlement during the moving of the church, a surcharge fill was constructed beforehand at this location. As a result of the surcharge load the original ground surface settled up to 99 cm in 17 months. After removal of the surcharge fill, the original ground level heaved up to 10 cm. During the moving of the church, settlement reached 5–7 cm. The method of transport is described as well as the transport equipment used, the underpinning of the church at the original site, and its foundation in the new position.