Nimis

Nimis is a walk-in labyrinth of towers, tunnels, stairs and walkways on the boulder shore known as Håle stenar, below Kullaberg's north cliffs and facing the bay of Skälderviken. Lars Vilks put up its first boards on 31 July 1980 and kept building with driftwood and other timber, without permission, inside a nature reserve. Ordered to remove it, he sold it to Joseph Beuys; it later passed to Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and for two decades the courts ruled on its fate. Fires and storms wrecked parts of it, and it was rebuilt again and again. Nationalencyklopedin, the Swedish national encyclopedia, calls it the only major work of land art made in Sweden.

You can walk in through a tunnel of planks and driftwood, then wander its passages. Arx, Vilks' book in stone, stands a short scramble away, and around both lies Ladonia, the micronation he proclaimed in 1996. Reaching Nimis takes a walk of about 1.3 km from Himmelstorp, ending in a steep descent.

What you'll find

Two works by Vilks still stand on this shore, inside a country of his own making.

• Nimisbuilt of driftwood, scrap planks and fallen timber, held together by tens of thousands of nails. Its tallest towers once reached about 15 m; one had a spiral staircase. Vilks made it to be entered, not just looked at.
• Arx60–70 m east along the shore, a "book" of beach stones set in concrete that looks like a ruined fortress. Some of its stones carry painted page numbers.
• Ladoniayou'll be standing in it. The micronation has a queen, a flag and, by its own count, about 31,000 citizens, though nobody lives there.
• The shorebig rounded boulders, the bay of Skälderviken and, on its far side, the Bjäre peninsula. Harbor porpoises and seals live in the sea around Kullaberg.
• A rest by the seamany visitors sit on the boulders with a packed snack before the climb back.

Walking down to Nimis

The shortest way starts at Himmelstorp.

1. 1

   Upper car park

   drive past the lower car park to the smaller upper one, which has a toilet.

2. 2

   Himmelstorpsgården

   climb the short stairs and walk about 250 m to the farm, then pass to the right of its buildings.

3. 3

   Two gates

   the path crosses a cattle pasture. Close each gate behind you.

4. 4

   Orange marks

   follow Kullaleden's orange marks toward Håkull, on a stretch shared with the Blue trail. After about 350 m the path bends left; go about 200 m more.

5. 5

   The yellow N

   an N with an arrow pointing right, painted on a slender trunk, marks the turn-off down to Nimis.

6. 6

   The last 400 m

   steep, stony and full of roots, dropping about 120 m to the shore. You'll need your hands for balance.

The walk is about 1.3–1.4 km each way. The path first climbs about 30 m, then drops about 145 m to the sea. Most people take 30–40 minutes down and longer back up; Ladonia suggests about an hour each way at an easy pace, and 2–3 hours for the whole outing. Vilks painted the first yellow N's himself. They are still unofficial, and Nimis appears on none of the reserve's maps or information boards. The map below shows the route, and the Path to Nimis has a page of its own with an elevation profile and a GPX file to download.

Other ways to get there

• From MölleKullaleden's 3 km shortcut, stage 3a, reaches Himmelstorp in about an hour.
• From Arild harborabout 3.5 km to Nimis on Kullaleden, which runs inland rather than along the shore.
• By busline 222 from Höganäs stops at Mölle Möllehässle, about 1.9 km on foot from the upper car park, and line 223 serves Arild. Check current timetables.
• From the seasee Nimis from the water on Kullabergsguiderna's summer porpoise safari, or come by kayak, rented from Upplev Kullaberg in Mölle or Arild. Landing works only in very calm weather, onto big boulders, and you will get wet.

Before you go

• At your own riskLänsstyrelsen, which manages the reserve, doesn't recommend going down to Nimis. Swedish TV counted 33 accidents there in 2006–2019; Vilks held that most happen on the slope and the boulders, not in the work.
• Inside the workgoing in and climbing aren't banned; a proposed ban was withdrawn in 2020. Mind loose planks and protruding nails; it's at your own risk, and Höganäs municipality advises against climbing the towers. Or enjoy it from outside.
• Not for everyonethe path doesn't suit small children, anyone unsteady on their feet or with bad knees, strollers or wheelchairs. Wheelchair users can try the level 800 m Björkeröd purple loop instead.
• Weatherroots, stones and rocks turn slippery after rain, and in autumn fallen leaves hide them. On hot days the climb back is hard work.
• Water and toiletsbring your own water: Nimis has none, and don't count on any at Himmelstorp. Toilets are by the upper car park, and Himmelstorpsgården has a summer café; check its hours first.
• In an emergencycall 112 and give the nearest rescue point's number. Point 23 stands by the path about 140 m north of Himmelstorpsgården; there is none at the shore, and help may be slow.
• Dogson a leash all year. They can usually get half or all of the way down, but not onto the boulder beach.
• Firesonly at fixed grill sites, never during a fire ban and never at Nimis. The nearest are at Himmelstorp; bring your own wood or charcoal.
• Leave it as it isthe reserve's rules forbid building anything, including adding to the works or stacking stone towers, and tents need Länsstyrelsen's permission. Please don't move stones either.
• Bird closurefrom 1 March to 15 July the cliffs and water from Djupadal to Valdemarsgrottan are closed for nesting birds. Nimis lies outside the zone, but paddlers from Mölle must keep out of it.
• Best time and parkingcome early or late: both car parks often fill in summer and at weekends. Parking is free, in marked bays only.

Fire, storms and the courts

In 1982 Länsstyrelsen, the county administrative board, ordered Vilks to remove Nimis. He never did. Instead the work changed hands. When Vilks sold it to Joseph Beuys in 1984, the removal order lapsed, and after Beuys died, Christo and Jeanne-Claude bought it from his estate. In 1998 the enforcement authority was ready to demolish Nimis and Arx, but the courts would not allow it. In 2000 the Court of Appeal ruled that no removal order could be directed at Vilks, since he did not own them. Against arson and vandals he set a rule of his own: restore whatever is destroyed and make the work bigger, so that destruction always makes it grow.

1. 1980

   On 31 July Vilks put up the first boards on the driftwood at Håle stenar. A few days later he came back with a hammer and nails.

2. 1982

   Länsstyrelsen declared Nimis a building in the protected shore zone and ordered Vilks to remove it or face a SEK 10,000 fine.

3. 1983

   By now Vilks' yellow N's guided the growing crowds. In June, according to Vilks, Danish schoolchildren accidentally disarmed a timed incendiary device. In December a court found him guilty but waived the penalty.

4. 1984

   According to Vilks, Joseph Beuys became the owner on 25 April, for US$1,500. In November the Court of Appeal walked down to Nimis in the rain, then acquitted Vilks.

5. 1985

   On 28 January an arson attack destroyed about two-thirds of Nimis, some 15 tonnes of wood by Vilks' estimate. A smaller "New Nimis" opened that May.

6. 1986

   Christo and Jeanne-Claude bought Nimis from Beuys' estate, for US$2,500 according to Vilks. In November the Supreme Court ruled 3–2 that Nimis is legally a building and sentenced Vilks to 25 day-fines of SEK 40.

7. 1991

   On 3 January Vilks began Arx, a stronghold of beach stones and concrete next to Nimis; in 1993 it was published as a book.

8. 1993

   A letter from Länsstyrelsen said the law did not directly forbid maintaining an illegally built structure. Vilks took it as an agreement and kept Nimis in repair openly until 2016.

9. 1996

   Vilks proclaimed Ladonia on 2 June. By late October, by its own count, it had more than 1,000 citizens.

10. 1999

    The landowner demanded that all the works be removed. The district court ruled that Nimis and Arx could stay, but a third work, Omfalos, had to go.

11. 2001

    The Supreme Court refused to hear the landowner's appeal, which left Nimis and Arx standing. Omfalos was lifted away that December.

12. 2013

    In December storm Sven smashed Wotan's Tower at the water's edge and toppled the Tower of the Winds. In 2014 Vilks built on top of the fallen tower.

13. 2016–18

    On 24 November 2016 an arson attack destroyed about a quarter of Nimis, by the rescue service's estimate. In 2018 Vilks was fined for two structures added after the fire.

14. 2021

    Lars Vilks died on 3 October. Höganäs municipality asked the Ministry of Culture to help preserve the works; it declined.

15. 2023

    In January a foundation set up by Vilks' friends, partner and colleagues became the owner of Nimis and Arx and, Swedish media reported, of Ladonia.

16. 2024

    Around mid-June a boulder fell from the cliff and crushed a leg of one tower. Volunteers propped it up, but it collapsed in the night before 14 July. Nobody was hurt.

17. 2026

    Five years after Vilks' death, the permits needed to preserve Nimis still await Länsstyrelsen's decision, expected before Christmas.

Lars Vilks

Lars Vilks was born in Helsingborg on 20 June 1946 and grew up in Höganäs. Self-taught as an artist, he trained as an art historian at Lund University and took his doctorate there in 1987 with a thesis called "Konst och konster" (Art and arts). From 1997 to 2003 he was professor of art theory in Bergen, Norway. He championed the institutional theory of art: art is whatever the art world treats as art.

He was already a provocateur before Nimis. In 1976 he declared the whole of Höganäs municipality a work of art and drove a painted Volkswagen around the art institutions of northwest Skåne, challenging them to pistol duels. In 1977 he offered himself as an exhibit to the spring salon at Vikingsbergs konstmuseum in Helsingborg. Rejected, he signed the museum itself, "Vilks –77", on the plinth of the lion at its entrance. On 26 August 1978 he nearly drowned in a storm while swimming off Kullaberg's north side. The episode, he wrote, gave birth to "the sea-avenger", and Höganäs municipality calls Nimis his revenge on the sea.

Vilks presented Nimis as a process work: the authorities, the trials and the press coverage belonged to it as much as the timber did. His 2003 book on the saga is called "Myndigheterna som konstnärligt material" (The authorities as artistic material). He also kept count. By early 2008 he reckoned he had walked almost 20,000 km for Nimis, and on 25 November 2016 his tally stood at 7,585 visits.

In 2007 Vilks made drawings of the Prophet Muhammad as a "roundabout dog". A Swedish newspaper published one that August, several governments condemned it, and in September the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq offered a bounty for killing him. From that autumn until his death Vilks lived under police protection. In 2010 he was attacked during a lecture in Uppsala, and petrol bombs were thrown into his home while he was away. On 14 February 2015 a gunman attacked a debate in Copenhagen that Vilks was attending and killed the film director Finn Nørgaard; Vilks was unhurt. The gunman then shot dead Dan Uzan, a volunteer guard outside a synagogue. From then on Vilks could no longer visit Nimis regularly, and his friend Fredrik Larsson took over the repairs.

On 3 October 2021 the police car taking Vilks home crossed into oncoming traffic on the E4 near Markaryd and hit a truck. Vilks, 75, and his two police bodyguards were killed. In 2022 prosecutors concluded that the crash was an accident, most likely caused by a tire failure. The day after his death, visitors left flowers and driftwood at Nimis. According to his partner, his remains were lowered into the sea there in 2022.

Nimis is my life's work and a contribution to art history.

Arx

Arx, Latin for "stronghold", stands on the boulders 60–70 m east of Nimis: walls, towers and pinnacles of beach stones set in concrete, which Vilks began in 1991. His publisher declared it a book and published it in 1993, with 352 numbered "pages" and its own ISBN. After a trial in 1994, Vilks paid his fine by selling the pages at SEK 100 each, and by his account Arx ended up with more than 300 owners. It still stands, and from Nimis you reach it by clambering over the boulders.

Omfalos

From 1999 a third work stood here: Omfalos, a stone-and-concrete pillar, 1.61 m tall and about a tonne. Its name comes from the omphalos, the "navel" stone at Delphi that marked the center of the world. Vilks never admitted making it; he said he had only named it. The landowner complained, a court ordered it removed, and in April 2001 Vilks sold it to the artist Ernst Billgren for SEK 10,000.

Vilks applied to blow it up with 100 kg of dynamite on Nobel Day, 10 December 2001, in the prize's centenary year. Länsstyrelsen refused but kept its answer secret until that day. Omfalos was already gone: at dawn on 9 December the enforcement authority had lifted it out with a crane boat. The bill came to SEK 92,500, or SEK 103,500 with legal costs. The bailiff in charge received a tongue-in-cheek art prize for "without doubt the most significant performance work in Sweden" that year.

Omfalos spent a year outside Hotel Kullaberg in Mölle harbor before joining Moderna Museet's collection in Stockholm in 2003. Länsstyrelsen let Vilks mark its old spot with a memorial "at most 8 cm, preferably less", set up in 2002; whether it survives is unknown.

Ladonia

On 2 June 1996 Vilks proclaimed the free state of Ladonia, about 1 km² around Nimis and Arx. It was a protest against the efforts to remove the works, and a shield against them: the authorities had given up, Vilks argued, so Swedish law no longer fully applied there. The name comes from Ladon, the dragon that guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides.

Ladonia is a "remony", a royal republic with a queen who reigns for life and, today, a prime minister. Vilks crowned Queen Carolyn I at Nimis in 2011 and served as State Secretary until his death. Citizenship is free and you apply for it online; noble titles cost a fee. Ladonia's own census counted about 31,000 citizens in August 2026.

In early 2002 about 3,000 applications came from Pakistan, many from people expecting jobs and homes. Vilks then took the form offline and reopened it with a notice that no one can live or work in Ladonia. Its declarations of war, on Sweden and the USA in 2003 and on San Marino, have since been renounced. On 2 June 2026 it turned 30.

• Flagthe Glorious Green, a green Nordic cross on a field of the same green: Sweden's blue and yellow mixed. By Ladonian tradition, the first flag was made by boiling a Swedish one.
• Anthemcomposed by the Norwegian Jan Lothe Eriksen and performed by throwing a stone into water, "preferably calm water to let the rings sound".
• Currencythe örtug, named after a medieval silver coin and worth about SEK 10. The 1997 one-örtug note was worth half an örtug when cut in half.
• Time zoneUTC+0:57, three minutes behind Swedish standard time, introduced in 1996 with the slogan "We'll give you three minutes more".
• Languagetwo words: "Waaaaalll" (an odd number of a's and l's, with more a's) for exuberant moments, and "Ÿp" for solemn ones.
• Traditionsthe national animal is the crab, the greeting is both hands raised to the cheeks, palms forward, and taxes were once paid in creativity.
• Holidaysamong them Burning Day (28 January, the 1985 fire), Doom Day (3 November, the 1986 ruling), the Day of the County Administrative Board and two Days of Misunderstanding, 24½ and 25½ December.

Nimis today

Since January 2023 Nimis and Arx have belonged to Stiftelsen Lars Vilks Minnesfond, a foundation chaired by the jurist Krister Thelin; Swedish media report that it owns Ladonia too. Volunteers look after Nimis: the association Nimis vänner (Friends of Nimis), founded in 2022, and Ladonia's own maintainers. The land belongs to the Krapperup estate foundation, Gyllenstiernska Krapperupsstiftelsen, and Länsstyrelsen Skåne manages the nature reserve.

Nimis still has no permit. Since 2024 Länsstyrelsen has been considering an exemption from the reserve's rules that would let the works stay. In 2025 a consultation also began ahead of an application for a Natura 2000 permit. Only if both are granted can Nimis be listed as a protected building. In October 2026 Länsstyrelsen said it expected a decision before Christmas. The owners want to keep Nimis as Vilks left it, with no easier path down. Vilks himself had spoken of ending it in 2030 unless it was officially approved.

Nature keeps working on it: in 2024 a boulder from the cliff crushed one tower's leg, and about a month later the tower fell. Reports on repairs since then conflict, and nobody has measured the towers since. Photos from May 2026 show several tall towers still standing.

Nobody counts visitors. In 2010 Vilks gave a "very cautious" estimate of about 40,000 a year; in 2019 Sveriges Radio reported more than 90,000. The one hard number: more than 5,000 cars at the nearest car park in one week of July 2020.

It should be a bit hard to get to Nimis; that's part of the experience.

Books, films and curiosities

• Vilks' own books"Nimis och Arx" (1994); "Myndigheterna som konstnärligt material" (2003), his account of the saga; and "Nimis" (2021), a short illustrated history of the work.
• Books by othersLeif Eriksson's "Kring Nimis" (1982), Lisa Rosendahl's essay on Vilks and the legal process in "The Trials of Art" (2007), and Niklas Orrenius' reportage "Skotten i Köpenhamn" (2016).
• Film and TV"Det är väl ingen konst", a TV film, was shot at Nimis in 1988. "Allting är en fördel" is a documentary named after Vilks' motto, "everything is an advantage". "Micronations", featuring Ladonia, premiered at the Tribeca Festival in 2026.
• RadioSveriges Radio's interview "Lars Vilks – allt för konsten" (2021) and its 2022 reports "Arvet efter Vilks" (Vilks' legacy) on what will become of Nimis.
• MuseumsModerna Museet in Stockholm showed Vilks in 2004 and keeps Omfalos. Skissernas museum in Lund holds a wooden piece signed by Joseph Beuys as "owner of Nimis from 25.4.1984", now in storage.
• Jazz on the shorea yearly open-air concert from 1997 to 2001. In 1999 about 150 people came, 14 boats anchored offshore, and a double bass was carried down the slope.
• Nelson the rhinothe first rhino born in Sweden, at Kolmården in 1995. In 2000 his ashes were buried in Nimis under a cairn with a plaque.
• Odd momentsVilks turned his 1986 day-fines into signed drawings and sold them. Ladonian grooms had to shake Wotan's Tower until its bell rang. In 2012 anonymous artists fitted a tower with loudspeakers broadcasting the call to prayer, and Vilks left them up.