copenhagen – The aging hippies who took over Copenhagen’s abandoned naval base more than 50 years ago and turned it into a bohemian community known as Christiania tear up the cobblestone streets and control the community’s lucrative hashish market. We want to get rid of criminals who do this. It openly changes hands.
Over the years, there have been numerous attempts to stop illegal hashish sales, often ending in violent clashes between criminal gangs and police, only for the trade to resume soon after. Residents will begin digging up Pusher Street on Saturday, after which they could receive government funding to help renovate the area.
The plan is to create “a new Christiania without a criminal hashish market,” said Mette Prag, coordinator of the enclave's new social housing project. Prag, who has lived in Christiania for 37 years, compared Christiania to a “village.”
Hulda Mader, who has lived in Christiania for 40 years, said: “We don't need gangs anymore. Once the illegal trade stops, some people may sell hashish, but it won't be public.” . ”
After the cobblestones are removed, new water pipes and new paving will be installed on Pusher Street, and nearby buildings will also be renovated. This is the first step in an overall plan to integrate the hippie oasis into Denmark's metropolitan area, but the “free state” spirit of creativity and community life should be maintained.
Danish authorities have been strangling the downtown community for years.
In 1971, squatters took over an abandoned military installation and established a neighborhood that embraced the flower power ideals popular at a time when marijuana was free, government influence was limited, and there were no cars or police. did. Since then, successive Danish governments have wanted Christiania shut down, not least because the open sale of hashish often leads to tensions.
To begin with, the so-called Christians ignored the law, building houses without permission and ignoring utility bills. Outsiders could only enter a community if they were related to someone already living there.
Eventually residents were given the right to use the land, but not the right to own it. After more than 40 years of wrangling with authorities, they were given control of their home in 2011, with the state transferring the 84-acre (24-hectare) enclave to a foundation that owns it for 125.4 million kroner. Sold for $18.2 million. residents. There are currently nearly 800 adults and 200 children living there, and up to 25 percent of the residents are over 60, Plug said.
The following year, it was decided to construct public housing that could house up to 300 people. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027.
Plug said he would like to see “younger people, more families” move in and actively participate in community activities to preserve the spirit of Christiania, such as buildings painted in psychedelic colors and stray dogs. .
Over the years, Christiania has become one of Copenhagen's biggest tourist attractions, attracting both Danes and foreigners alike. Some people are angry about the openly illegal sale of hashish, while others are buying marijuana, even though authorities have long tolerated the trade on Pusher Street. Christiania banned hard drugs in 1980.
In 2004, police began cracking down on drug-related operations (worth millions of dollars, police say) controlled by the Hells Angels and the outlawed Royal Family. Illegal sales resumed soon after, even though police arrested the sellers and fined customers.
In 2023, drug-related tensions escalated after drug traffickers shot dead two police officers and a bystander. The 25-year-old dealer ultimately died.
Residents tried to stop sales on Pusher Street by demolishing dealers' booths themselves, but they fought back. They blocked access to the street with a giant shipping container, but masked men removed the container.
Residents fed up with criminals say ending organized hashish sales is a “key prerequisite” before the government gets Christiania the 14.3 million kroner ($2.1 million) earmarked for hashish sales. In August, I decided that I had to do something. repair work.
Christiania is now appealing to the public to help dig up Pusher Street so that sales can be stopped once and for all and this community can remain an alternative and legitimate part of Copenhagen free of criminals. I hope I can.
Mader said with a smile, “You can come and eat cobblestones as a souvenir.''
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