LADONIA (SWEDEN)

This page is about Nimis and Arx, towering sculptures in Ladonia made by Lars Vilks. Ladonia is a fictive county that has declared independence from Sweden and is situated in a nature reserve in Kullabygden in the peninsula Kullen in southwest Skåne, Sweden, near the small town Mölle (that is very popular among tourists). The location is a right between a green mountain and the sea. The only way to access Ladonia and the towers is to climb down the mountain! So you have to walk down this green mountain through a forest for about 20 minutes. It is pretty hard to get down, you have to walk on several stones on a sometimes very steep path.

One Sunday in June 2004 me and some friends made it the whole way to Ladonia, just like bunches of tourists. And of course we took a lot of pictures of Nimis, that look like some skyscrapers and create an own skyline (at least with a little fantasy), and Arx, that looks like a cathedral (Sagrada Familia?). All towers of Nimis are built in wood and Arx is built in Stone. The artist Lars Vilks is the brain behind the kingdom and the sculptures. The whole project began in 1980 and the towers has been burned down several times. And there has been a 20 year old fight between the artist(Vilks) and the district court, that mean that he is not allowed to make this exhibition in a nature reserve and want him to remove the sculptures! You can get a membership of the country for free, but if you like to be anything special (lord, baron etc) it costs. The "country" has about 10 000 citizens. Warning! It is very dangerous to walk down, do it at your own risk hehe! It is also interesting, that when you have reached the entrance of Nimis, you can walk down a very long stairway that leads and connects with some of the towers. The towers are called things like Wotan´s tower, The Function of the Ascendant and Tower of Winds.

NIMIS:

Nimis skyline.


Nimis and Arx skyline.

Some of the nature on the way down.

This stairway leeds right down the cliff and connects with the towers.

When you first reach Ladonia and look down, you see this.

"The cliff seen to the left constitutes the western border towards Sweden."

The cool thing is that you can walk up the stairs of all towers and visit the view (dangerous too)!

The Function of the Ascendant (12 m). This is the first tower that you reach. "It was destroyed by fire (caused by vandals in Feb 1997). The rebuilding strated immediately. From the top of this tower it is (or now - will be) possible to watch the sun setting a few weeks around midsummer."

Tower of Winds. Dominates the skyline.

Wotan´s tower stands independent from the complex. "This construction was started in 1988. The tower is about 12 meters high and have an ongoing fight with the waves. When the wind blows, the tower is totally surrounded by water. On the top there is placed mirrors which are reflecting the sun in the summertime. Inside the tower you can find a small statue of Venus, which can be seen through a peephole."

ARX:

Arx differs from the other sculptures. It is made in stone. "The stone book "Arx" copy 1 and a part of copy 2. The book has 352 pages which cannot be turned. The reader has to move himself.

MÖLLE:

Mölle is the closest town from Ladonia, located on the rocks of the peninsula called Kullen.