Looking for a change of scenery? Consider moving to Ladonia, a micronation made up of driftwood, nails, and nine-story wooden “fortresses” located in the southwest corner of Sweden. Designed by Lars Vilks, the mock nation consists of two works of art: Nimis, a maze of 70 tons of driftwood and nails, and Arx, a stone and concrete sculpture that looks like a melting sandcastle.
Vilks has managed to dodge government interference with the project by selling Nimis to Cristo, another artist, and by declaring Ladonia to be an independent nation in 1996. A fake group funded by the Pirate Bay called the Armed Coalition Forces of the Internets even declared war on the supposed 15,000 inhabitants of Ladonia, all of whom live elsewhere since they are nomads. Ladonia even has a national flag (green with a green cross) and a national anthem called “Ladonia for thee I fling”, written by Walter Ehresman, the country’s Minister of Dubious Anthems.
The satirical nature of the Ladonia project didn’t stop 3,000 Pakistanis from applying for immigrant status, only to find out that Ladonia is not, in fact, an inhabitable country.
+ Ladonia
Via Atlas Obscura
