The Natural History Museum in Stockholm. — © Shutterstock
A Swedish landowner has won a legal battle against two geologists. The man can keep the meteorite that fell on his estate a few years ago, a judge ruled.
On November 7, 2020, a fourteen kilo iron meteorite fell on a private property of Johan Benzelstierna von Engeström in Uppland, Sweden. A month later, geologists Andreas Forsberg and Anders Zetterqvist found the space rock and decided to hand it over to the natural history museum in the Swedish capital Stockholm.
However, that was not to the liking of the landowner, who felt that it was “his” stone because it had landed on his property. Initially – in December 2022 – he was defeated in the district court in Uppsala. It ruled that the two geologists had the right to the stone “because the meteorite was not part of the landowner’s real estate and was in fact an ownerless movable asset.”
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The landowner appealed and was successful this time. The appeals court in Svea ruled on Thursday that the land on which the meteorite landed, like the space rock itself, contains iron and that the rock on it “cannot be easily separated from what is normally considered immovable property.” Simply put, the stone is part of the land where it was found. “Just like other stones,” said Judge Robert Green.
Sweden’s “right of public access” gives everyone the freedom to roam freely in Sweden, provided animals and nature are respected, but it does not give anyone the right to take a meteorite from someone else’s country, the court ruled .
The two geologists may still appeal to the Swedish Supreme Court, but it is not yet clear whether they will actually do so.
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