Nimis and the Micronation of Ladonia, Sweden

What is a micronation? A micronation is a small entity that aims for recognition as a sovereign state but is most commonly not actually seen as such.

Whilst the UN and international governments do recognize some micronations (Vatican City, San Marino and Liechtenstein for example), there are many unofficial micronations that exist only in theory. Some of these exist only in the imagination of its founders, but there are several that occupy physical terrain. Ladonia is one of those.

Lars Vilks

Swedish artist and former professor Lars Vilks is perhaps best known for the international controversy initiated by the publication in a Swedish newspaper of his drawings of Mohammed. Nevertheless, it was long before this controversy that Vilks founded Ladonia.

Ladonia

In 1980 Vilks began building two great sculptures; Nimis made out of driftwood, and Arx from stone, inside a nature reserve in Skåne, Sweden. Because of the isolated location of the two sculptures, they were not discovered until two years later. Upon discovering Nimis and Arx, the local council demanded their removal, declaring such buildings illegal within a nature reserve.
In protest at the council's decision, in 1996 Lars Vilks declared the founding of the micronation of Ladonia in which to house the Nimis and Arx.

Currently nobody lives in Ladonia but there are said to be fourteen thousand Ladonian citizens, mostly fellow artists.

Nimis

The biggest of the two structures, Nimis is a collection of huge wooden sculptures on, and leading down to the rocky shore of, Kullaberg Nature Reserve. Because Ladonia is not recognized by the state and the existence of Nimis remains technically illegal, Nimis appears on no maps. With the absence of licensed guidance it can be tricky to find Nimis. However from the nearest town of Mölle one can easily locate the old preserved farmstead Himmelstorp. It is from Himmelstorp that the path to Nimis begins; walkers simply have to follow the yellow 'N's painted on trees to reach the sculpture. Some of the signs include an indication of how many kilometers are remaining, but this seems to be deliberately misleading.
It is a fairly long walk that starts out easily and then becomes quite strenuous, but reaching Nimis is rewarding. The path leads through and inside Nimis itself. You walk through tunnels made of driftwood that are almost maze like. Finally at the end of the path, surrounded by huge wooden sculptures you are treated to the serenity of the shore and can experience the feeling of being the sole inhabitant of a nation.

Sources

The Official Ladonia Website http://ladonia.net

Lonely Planet Explores Micronations National Public Radio.

Ladonia (micronation) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladonia_(micronation)