A 31-year-old Swiss IT specialist named Jonas Lauwiner has done something most people would dismiss as impossible: he legally claimed over 100,000 square meters of Swiss land, crowned himself king, built a self-styled military, and is now an elected city council member. None of it is technically illegal.
The story begins on Lauwiner’s 20th birthday, when his father gifted him a small plot of land. That simple gesture set everything in motion. While researching Swiss property law, Lauwiner discovered Article 658 of the Swiss Civil Code, which states that ownerless land can be legally claimed through official registration channels.
Recognizing that almost nobody else was taking advantage of this, he began combing through land registries, methodically identifying and claiming abandoned forests, fields, roads, and industrial plots scattered across the country.
By 2019, at age 24, Lawer decided his growing land collection needed a proper ruler. He rented a medieval church in Bern, arrived in full royal clothing with a jewel-covered crown, and held an actual coronation ceremony complete with a choir. Many attendees were reportedly friends or hired actors.
From there, things escalated quickly. Lauwiner built what he calls the Lauwiner Empire, complete with an official website, an imperial flag, an imperial anthem, citizenship applications, military patches, royal titles, and a section dedicated to the Empire Legion, which the site describes as an air, land, and sea-based paramilitary force. The website also details a command structure with regiments operating in Switzerland, Morocco, and Ukraine.
Local governments are not amused. The real concern is not the crown or the costumed militia, but the land itself. Over 5,000 people reportedly drive daily across roads that technically belong to Lauwiner. When officials in one municipality asked him to relinquish a road, he reportedly offered two choices: pay him around 150,000 Swiss Francs or rename the road after him.
One official accused him of having “an excessive thirst of power and an exaggerated need to put himself forward.” A lawyer attempted legal action, but the lawsuit was reportedly dismissed because Lauwiner had not broken any law.
Lauwiner has been consistent in his messaging, stating, “I do it digitally and without bloodshed.” He maintains the empire is symbolic, that he respects Swiss law, and that he is proud to be Swiss.
He currently charges maintenance fees for road usage, sells construction rights near roads he owns, and grants access permissions for new developments.
The story took one final unexpected turn when Lauwiner won an actual city council seat in Burgdorf. Somewhere in Switzerland, routine government meetings are now occasionally attended by a self-proclaimed king.
Swiss authorities have begun working to change property laws specifically because of him, but whether that effort succeeds or not, Lauwiner has already accomplished his apparent goal: 100,000 square meters of land, a public identity, and a seat at the table.
