LADONIA
    INFO and DIARY   2016

Some facts about the country. (Jump to diary)
The Royal Republic of Ladonia is found on the peninsular Kullaberg, in-between Southern Sweden and Kattegat. It covers 1 square kilometre. The population is around 17.750 of which some believe in Folk religions, some are Buddhists, some Taoists, some Christians, some Muslims, some Jews and some don't care. Fortunately enough, most citizens are living in other countries. Else this little piece of nature would be the heaviest populated area in the world

MONEY: The currency is Örtug, 1 Örtug is around 10 Swedish Krona or 1 Euro.

CLIMATE: It ought to be the dry time of year, but it could be warmer. Some days, it will rain. In the winter, it get cold and sometimes white.

ANIMALS and PLANTS: Due to the rather populated area, most large animals only occurs at night. The average Scandinavian smaller mammals and insects can be found in the bushes, and here are plenty of birds, especially along the beach.

HISTORY: There was a legend of a garden in the very far west where the dragon Ladon guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides; apples that gave immortality. The myths tell us that Ladon was eventually slain by Hercules, and thus immortality was placed in the world and that event introduced tension between mortal and immortal time.
The area was rouled by Danes and Swedish kings through millennias. Then an artist started working on the beach in 1980, and in Ladonia was proclaimed independent on the 2nd of June, 1996, by Lars Vilks. In 1997, when the number of citizens had grown to more than 1.000, elections were held. Ladonia became a Republican Monarchy with a president, Fernando Rodrigues (1997–2004) living in Brazil The current President is Christopher Matheoss, living in France. The first queen was Ywonne I (1997–2011) living in Sweden while present monarch is HM The Queen Carolyn, living in the USA. The international recognition is a slow process (none so far), but the public support is amassing. So fare, more than 17.000 citizens have joined the tiny kingdom.

The National Anthem of Ladonia is the sound of throwing a stone into water. A second one is composed by the Minister of Health and can be described as a tone poem on the development of Ladonian freedom.
The Ladonian language consists of two words: “waaaall” and “ÿp”.
Ladonia has its own timezone (LST – Ladonia Standard Time) which is UTC/GMT +0:57
(Three minutes slower than neighbouring Sweden)
The Constitution of Ladonia explicitly excludes men from the throne. There has not been, nor will ever be, a King of Ladonia. Only Queens.

The Ladonian Flag, also known as “the Glorious Green”, was standardised by Hendrik Lönngren in February of 2008. The flag is a green field with a green cross. The background and the cross have the same colour, which is expressed in sRGB: 0, 144, 0 (#x009000). The flag is 13 by 21 units in height and length, the cross arms 3 units. Horizontal parts is 5 : 3 : 13, vertical 5 : 3 : 5. Only fibonaccital have been used. As is the nature of the Fibonacci numbers, the flag proportion 21:13 is near the Golden Ratio 1.618.

MAJOR SIGHTS:
 Nimis
On July 30. 1980, Lars Vilks began building a series of sculptures made of driftwood in the nature reserve Kullaberg, in the northwest corner of county Skåne. A few days later the sculpture was named “Nimis”. Vilks worked on the sculpture for two years before it was “discovered” by the local authorities in 1982. The total length of Nimis is about 200 meters and the highest point is about 15 meters. Every part of this wood-piece is possible to enter and you can walk inside it. In front of Nimis you’ll find the Tower of Wotan which is situated close to the sea. Under the high Tower of the Winds the National Library is to be found.

 Arx
About 60-70 meters to the east Arx appears. Arx is a stone-book of 150 tons. At the moment the second copy is almost finished thus forming together a small library consisting of 300 tons of stones and concrete. Behind Arx there is a small opening between the bushes. Among the trees the Highway No 2 begins. After a few meters, the apple tree of the Hesperides can be found and shortly forward opens the ravine Farstuhålet with a small cave. Traces of human beings have been discovered here, probably very old. After passing Farstuhålet the Wall (Kallmur) can be seen. It isn´t known who actually built it or when.

MORE INFORMATION: http://www.ladonia.org

DIARY
(Hoover over the photos, to enlarge them and see the text)

11/9 A magnificent late summer day, and I head towards the tunnel and bridge to Sweden. The perfect highway lead all the way up to near Kullaberga, and the narrow country roads leads further on, out on the Swedish peninsula. 
I reach the remote farmhouse that now are used as a coffee-house, and find the narrow trail in back of of. The dense forest is crossed by a cattle trail before it turns wild. Most trees are beach, and they block most of the sun out, leaving the forest bed barren.
Despite quite some people head this way, the trail is real rough and completely unmentioned. Only some yellow "N" on trees and rocks reveals the path is leading the right way. As it approaches the sea-line, it falls abrupt, and only the exposed bedrock, boulders and roots make the "sealing". This is not for people who is not fit!

Half way down the tree-covered cliffs, a portal marks the border. A sign tell the project was initiated back in 1980. I guess a few signs about the hazards ahead would be on its place. As the major sight in this micro country, the entrance and the way further down the real steep cliffs are made from driftwood, joined by rusty nails and good intentions. Some of the wood was most likely rotten back in 1980, and the years have not improved its quality! Further more, the constructions are clearly made by an artist, not a constructor.

Just because I'm a big chicken, I refrain form mowing around in the construction. It would be a neat way to donate some blood by the rusty nails, but I value mine. And the photos are better from a distance. Though, I might get some good ones from the top of the towers, which can be climbed, but despite I have walked with tigers, elephants, lions, cobras, free-climbed, dived with sharks and much, much more, I don't dare!

I spend some time walking - or rather climbing - around the large Nimis. Most of it is build on the huge boulders, falling down the mountain side. It does causes some problems catching the entire construction in one frame - well, at least without plunging into the sea.

Quite close - in the other end of Ladonia - is another piece of art from the same artist; Lars Vilks. This one seem significantly more stabile. It is made up by concrete, rocks and it have a iron skeleton. Like the larger Nimis, it seems to be an interpretation over a fantasy castle. Due to the material, it is fare from as detailed, nor does it hold the same "fantasy"-charm. Further more, it probably will remain for near eternity, and I have ambivalent feelings towards something like this in the nature. I would have had significantly easier accepting it, had it not had the iron beams, giving it the straight "window frames". Arches, made from the rocks found on the beach would have added so much.

Some loops around the wilder places reveals red and black berries. The heather do nicely in the cracks of the larger boulders, and the mulberry are only in its red stage. A few flowers are still flashing their colours like the Clematis. The heather and Thrift are on its last days, just as the Geranium. A few mushrooms starts to pop-up in the more moist areas, and I have to realist the summer are close to an end.

The climb back to Sweden is even more breath-taking: Nothing to hold on to, slippery mud and bone-braking steep!  It have been a special experience, visiting this micro state, and now I head back to Sweden to explore the surrounding Kullaberga.

The expenses was limited: Diesel for 400 km; 85 DKK, Bridge; 318 DKK.