Morokulien
World's first transboundary peace park on the Norway–Sweden border.
**Morokulien (Fredsriket – "The Republic of Peace")**
Morokulien is a 6-hectare (15-acre) symbolic zone straddling the Norway–Sweden border. Recognized as the world’s first transboundary peace park, it became home to the world’s first binational police station in 2025, jointly staffed by Norwegian and Swedish officers. The area serves as a cross-border tourist destination and cultural hub, hosting concerts, ceremonies, political meetings, and other events, embodying the Nordic peace tradition and cross-border cooperation.
**Location**
Morokulien lies between the Norwegian village of Magnor (Eidskog Municipality, Innlandet) and the Swedish village of Eda glasbruk (Eda Municipality, Värmland). It sits about 111 km east of Oslo and 427 km west of Stockholm, where Norway’s Route 2 meets Sweden’s Riksväg 61—the main road between the two capitals—and where the Kongsvinger Line and Värmland Line railways cross the border. This corridor has been the principal route between Oslo and Stockholm since the late 17th century, when the Vinger Royal Road, the first wheeled-traffic road between Kristiania (now Oslo) and Stockholm, crossed the border here. The site lies within the demilitarized zone established by the 1905 Karlstad Convention, following the peaceful dissolution of the Swedish–Norwegian Union. The border crossing at Magnor was also the route Swedish forces took on 1 August 1814 during the last armed conflict between the two countries, a historical link that influenced the monument’s location.
**Background**
After the 1814 Treaty of Kiel, Sweden tried to enforce Norway’s transfer from Denmark. Norwegian forces repelled Swedish troops near Magnor at Lier, Matrand, and Skotterud. The conflict ended with the Convention of Moss, and the two countries entered a personal union under a shared monarch. Tensions persisted until Norway peacefully dissolved the union in 1905, with war narrowly avoided largely through the efforts of the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society. The resulting Karlstad Convention established the demilitarized border zone where Morokulien now lies. In 1914, marking the centenary of the 1814 conflict and the peace that followed, Swedish and Norwegian peace movements jointly funded and erected a monument on the border. The surrounding 6 hectares later became known as Morokulien, regarded as the world’s first transboundary peace park.
- Area
- 6 hectares (15 acres)
- Established
- 1914 (peace monument); 1959 (ceremonial microstate)
- Location
- Between Magnor, Norway and Eda glasbruk, Sweden
- Coordinates
- 111 km east of Oslo; 427 km west of Stockholm
- Monument height
- 14.83 metres (48.7 ft)
- Monument inauguration
- 16 August 1914
- Bi-national police station inauguration
- 10 September 2025
Lore & Background
Morokulien lies within a demilitarized zone established by the Karlstad Convention of 1905, following the peaceful dissolution of the Swedish–Norwegian Union. The site was chosen for its historical association with the last armed conflict between the two countries in 1814. In 1914, Swedish and Norwegian peace movements jointly funded and erected a peace monument to mark a century of peace. The monument, designed by architect Lars Johan Lehming, consists of two granite pillars rising from a shared base straddling the national boundary, with sculpted figures representing Norway and Sweden clasping hands. The inauguration drew approximately 12,000 people. During the Second World War, the monument stood partly in German-occupied Norway, but German forces respected the site, and it became one of the few places where Norwegian–Swedish couples could marry. The surrounding forested region formed part of a network of clandestine routes used by Norwegian resistance members. In 1959, the site became the ceremonial microstate of Morokulien during a joint Swedish–Norwegian radio broadcast.
Reader's Guide
Morokulien functions as a cross-border tourist destination and cultural gathering place, hosting concerts, cultural events, ceremonies, and political meetings. It serves as a living symbol of the Nordic peace tradition and of cross-border cooperation between Norway and Sweden. The site's transportation routes—where Norway's Route 2 meets Sweden's Riksväg 61, and where the Kongsvinger Line and Värmland Line railways cross the border—give it both geographical and symbolic significance as the principal route between Oslo and Stockholm since the late 17th century. The Morokulien Information Center, built in 1996, is one of the few buildings in the world constructed directly over a national border, with a glass line marking the boundary inside. In 2025, the world's first bi-national police station was inaugurated at the site, staffed by officers from both countries and intended to strengthen cooperation on cross-border crime prevention, emergency response, and public safety. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Peace Square became a meeting point for those separated by border closures, including a notable encounter between Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Norwegian researcher Per Espen Stoknes.
Did You Know?
- The peace monument was designed by architect Lars Johan Lehming, who worked without pay and later lost his position at the Swedish defense bureau because of his involvement.
- During the Second World War, German forces respected the site, making it one of the few places where Norwegian–Swedish couples could marry.
- In 2025, the world's first bi-national police station was inaugurated at Morokulien by Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway.
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