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Jonas Lauwiner was widely dismissed as eccentric when he staged a coronation and proclaimed himself king of Switzerland in 2019. Since then, he has used a loophole in Swiss law to acquire 117,000 square meters of "land empire", but local authorities are eager to stop him.The self-declared king of Switzerland is aware that not everyone likes what he does."The role of the king in Switzerland is very special, because it is not really accepted. It is very controversial", says Jonas Lauwiner, 31."But I don't have many haters," he adds. "Nobody has stopped me, it's really impossible, because it's impossible."King Jonas I, as he calls himself, was proclaimed "symbolic" monarch of Switzerland in 2019 at the Nidegg church in Bern, with a few clergy in attendance.Lauwiner, a resident of the city of Burgdorf near Bern, who also works full-time at a pharmaceutical company, was solemnly dressed in full royal regalia, including an 18-carat gold crown.Since then, he has acquired many attributes of a modern monarch: for media interviews, he wears a military uniform decorated with gold, he has an official website and an "imperial bank" with a "semi-sovereign coin", and he is often accompanied by a 10-member staff for "security".A video on his website shows his legionnaires conducting training operations with military equipment near his large suburban residence: the royal "palace".Switzerland has a small historical tradition of monarchy and no royal family is mentioned in its constitution. "But I am not a constitutional monarch," says Lauwiner. "I am a symbolic monarch. There is a king in Switzerland, and that is me, King Jonas."Many have seen Lauwiner as eccentric or a joker, but if proclaiming himself king is a joke, it's a joke he takes very seriously - especially when it comes to his "land empire".Over the past decade, the Swiss and Moroccan citizen has used a loophole in Swiss law that says if a plot of land has no owner, anyone can claim it - for free.He now owns about 150 such plots across Switzerland, including a plot near his palace."Land Empire"Lauwiner first acquired a plot of land on his 20th birthday, when his father gave him a small agricultural plot he had bought cheaply years ago. "It was the biggest day of my life. Ever since I was eight, I always wanted to have my own land. My dream finally came true", he says."Then I wanted to expand."As luck would have it, the plot next to his had no listed owner, meaning that under Article 658 of the Swiss Civil Code, Lauwiner could legally claim it by paying a few hundred francs for processing at the land registry."Then I thought, this can't be the only one: it would be too lucky if I found only one in Switzerland. So I started a big search and found another, another, and another", he says.Lauwiner has now legally claimed 117,000 square meters of Swiss territory. While it is a small part of Switzerland's total surface area, his holdings include "strategic locations", including 83 roads."More than 5,000 people drive on my roads every day to get to their homes", he says.This has been a source of many disputes between Lauwiner and Swiss authorities.In the small village of Geuze, local authorities want to reclaim a street that Lauwiner has legally acquired, for which he offered them either 150,000 francs (164,000 euros) or to name it "Chemin Lauwiner" (Lauwiner Street).The authorities rejected his offer and local lawyer Loris Fabio Maiardi filed a criminal complaint alleging "abuse of a profitable exploitation gap"."Mr. Lauwiner's opera-style drama itself doesn't interest me. What drives me crazy is that he's trying to pressure people who are in a vulnerable position by imposing his price on them", local lawyer Loris Fabio Maiardi told local news channel RTS.Others were annoyed by "maintenance costs" that Lauwiner charges for using some of the roads."He's asking for money for something that doesn't require a significant investment", local councilor Joseph Schueler told local news channel RTS from the village of Hochdorf near Lucerne, where Lauwiner owns another road."I think he's playing with us a bit."Lauwiner claims the maintenance costs are an essential, if not profitable, part of his business."The only thing I ask for is a maintenance fee, I don't make a profit from these roads. Sometimes I sell the road, and that's how I make a profit."More income is made by granting construction permits on his land and selling the right to set up infrastructure for energy companies, such as pipes and cables."It's a full-time job", he says. "It's not easy to maintain 149 plots of land."Several Swiss cantons are now planning to change their laws to give local municipalities precedence over unclaimed land and prevent others from following in Lauwiner's footsteps.But, he says, it's too late: unclaimed plots were rare from the start and he has already claimed almost all plots that had any value. "There are only a few left, but they're not worth bothering with. You can't do anything with them."He says the authorities are reacting because they are worried he has completed his "campaign" within the law - the legal appropriation of land that was available. "That's why it's funny. They're just jealous that they didn't have a clue", he says.Today, instead of a campaign of acquisition, Lauwiner runs something more akin to a land management company, developing what he owns to make money and selling parts he doesn't need.It sounds much more mundane than the high-level diplomacy of a typical monarch, but he denies he is power-hungry or wants to expand his "empire"."I don't have the energy for it. In the end, I really want to be at peace, somewhere on a beach, enjoying my life", he says.Nevertheless, retirement from public life is not in his immediate plans.He has secured a place on the city council of Burgdorf in 2024, receiving almost 700 votes as an independent candidate named "King Jonas Lauwiner".Now he wants to run for higher office."The problem is that it's very difficult to enter as a single individual, and I can't bring my entourage into politics. But that's what I really want to do. I'm really trying for the National Council. I'm trying for the State Council. I'll try everything."