Arx

Arx is Lars Vilks' book in stone. It stands on the boulder shore known as Håle stenar, about 60–70 m east of Nimis. Its name is Latin for "stronghold". Vilks began it on 3 January 1991, on his 2,702nd visit to the shore by his own count, with a couple of kilos of concrete in his backpack.

Through the 1990s it grew into what looks like a ruined fortress: walls, towers and tall pinnacles of beach stones set in reinforced concrete, with openings like windows and doors. White numbers painted on some of the stones are the book's page numbers. Vilks put its weight at about 150 tonnes; its highest pinnacle rises about 6 m.

Visiting

• Getting therefrom Himmelstorp's upper car park, walk the Path to Nimis, about 1.3–1.4 km; its page gives the route step by step. At Nimis, clamber about 60–70 m east between big, rounded boulders.
• By kayakUpplev Kullaberg says you can paddle to Nimis and Arx. Book by the day before to start from Arild harbor: from there you don't pass the bird-protection zone, closed from 1 March to 15 July. Landing works only in very calm weather, onto big boulders, and you'll get wet.
• Best timea dry day with a calm sea, when you may spot harbor porpoises or seals. In summer the Himmelstorp car parks often fill, so come early or late.
• Water and toiletsthe shore has neither, so bring water. The nearest toilets are at Himmelstorp.
• At your own riskthe boulders are big, uneven and slippery when wet. Länsstyrelsen, the county board that manages the reserve, doesn't recommend going down to Nimis.
• Leave it as it isthe reserve's rules forbid building anything, including adding to the works or stacking stone towers on the beach. Please don't move stones either.

A book in stone

Vilks was not sure what he was building until the publisher David Stansvik, of Nya Doxa, declared it a book. Nya Doxa published it in 1993 with 352 numbered "pages", together with a booklet, "Att läsa Arx" (Reading Arx). The booklet's record in Sweden's national library catalog notes: "NB: Arx is a stone sculpture with ISBN 91-88248-47-X."

According to Vilks, the publisher planned 50 copies, but only three were made. A second copy was finished beside the first in 1999, though whether it is a separate structure is unclear. Copy no. 3 was built for an exhibition in Helsingborg's old power station around 1994, and its fate is unknown. There was even a "pocket edition" of about 600 g.

Courts and sledgehammers

Arx was soon reported to the police, and in 1992 the authorities inspected it. That year, Vilks wrote, people began attacking it with sledgehammers. He reinforced it and repaired it after every attack.

According to Vilks, the trial in Helsingborg on 13 June 1994 was advertised as a theater performance, people phoned the court to book tickets, and the prosecutor asked for prison or at least a heavy fine. Vilks' lawyer argued that Arx would become part of Swedish culture, like rock carvings and rune stones, and Lars Nittve, then head of Rooseum, testified that it had strong support in the art world.

Vilks was sentenced to 100 day-fines of SEK 100, and in 1995 the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court upheld the verdict. He paid by selling the book's 352 pages at SEK 100 each. By his account, pages with a sea view sold best, and Arx ended up with more than 300 owners, which made any attempt to have it removed hopelessly complicated.

In February 1995, according to Vilks, a Länsstyrelsen official told a newspaper that the works would "now go". Vilks replied:

1. 1998

   At Länsstyrelsen's request, the enforcement authority was ready to demolish Arx, partly because, Vilks wrote, its bailiff doubted that the book really had more than 300 owners. The courts refused.

2. 1999

   When the landowner demanded that all the works go, the district court let Nimis and Arx stay, but not a third work, Omfalos.

3. 2000

   The Court of Appeal agreed, finding that Vilks did not own Nimis or Arx, so no removal order could be directed at him.

Arx today

Since January 2023 Arx has belonged to Stiftelsen Lars Vilks Minnesfond, the memorial foundation that also owns Nimis. Until then it had been unclear whether Christo or Vilks owned it; Christo's son, his sole heir, gave the go-ahead for the transfer. What it meant for the page owners is not known. Arx is part of every effort to preserve the works, including the bid to list them as protected buildings and the 2025 Natura 2000 consultation.

Arx still stands: a visitor's photos from May 2026 show its stone spires intact. About 50 m further east, according to Vilks, an 8 cm memorial to Omfalos was set up in 2002; whether it survives is unknown.