German art student Miriam Wiskemann has won a year-long right-of-use agreement for the uninhabited island of Marsten off Sweden’s west coast – but there is a major catch
Miriam Wiskemann(Image: Instagram / Miriam Wiskemann)
Starting next Monday, 27-year-old art student Miriam Wiskemann will become the sole guardian of an uninhabited island situated off Sweden’s coastline. The diminutive island of Marsten, measuring just 180 metres by 50 metres, attracts kayakers and paddle boarders throughout the summer season, but for most of the year remains the exclusive territory of a cormorant colony.
The only stipulation is that Miriam must relinquish her title in June 2027. She is among a handful of fortunate winners of a competition organised by Visit Sweden. According to Visit Sweden’s website, the initiative aimed to demonstrate that “true luxury isn’t about excess, but rather about time, space and balance”.
Miriam and four other individuals from across the globe will be granted a year-long right-of-use agreement alongside a travel voucher worth 20,000 Swedish krona – approximately £1,590. The prize doesn’t include permanent residency, as there are no structures on the island.
Miriam, who is pursuing a degree in art, intends to spend some time on Marsten in September, collecting inspiration for her final creative project for her illustration degree. She remarks: “The main prize is actually the journey there.”
Miriam, originally from Dusseldorf in Germany, is currently studying at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design. She reveals she aspires to eventually pursue a master’s degree in Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm.
The art student, who has actually lived in Sweden for a year, explained to German news agency dpa: “Sweden just has a more relaxed pace of life that I’ve often found myself missing in Germany. This trip is all I’m going to be thinking about for the rest of this term.”
“I’ll take time to cycle around the island and draw a lot of inspiration from my surroundings,” she said. “Having this luxury of being able to travel there will definitely have a big influence on me.
“The Swedish nature and the stark differences of the seasons have always really inspired me and my art,” she added.
Marsten sits amongst a cluster of islands located roughly four miles from Sweden’s western coastline. With over 267,000 islands dotted along the Swedish shores, a key objective of the competition was to spotlight these hidden gems.
VisitSweden’s “Your Swedish Island” campaign attracted almost 2,500 applications from 100 countries. The other winners hail from Canada, the US, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Each successful applicant will serve as guardian of their own remote island for the coming year.