Nimis is a micro-nation based around a nine-story high illegally built tower – how brilliant is that?
Found in Sweden on a rocky beach reachable only via boat or a strenuous 30- to 45-minute hike. You will know when you have reached the nation of Ladonia, because it is marked by two monumental creative works: Nimis and Arx.
Created by artist Lars Vilks, Nimis is a maze-like wooden artwork made of 70 tons of driftwood and nails and culminating in a teetering, nine-story wooden tower. Arx is a stone and concrete sculpture resembling a melting sand castle. Nimis, the first of the two sculptures was begun in 1980 and went unnoticed by authorities for 2 years until 1982, when they declared it would have to be destroyed. As a means of outmaneuvering the Swedish authorities, even while Nimis was scheduled for destruction, Lars sold it to the artist Cristo, declaring the area an independent nation.
