Freetown Christiania
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- Norway's capital, Oslo, was known as Christiania from 1624-1877, and Kristiania from 1877-1925.
Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania, is a partially self-governing neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares (85 acres) in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Christiania has established semi-legal status as an independent community.
Christiania's Mission Statement: "The objective of Christiania is to create a self-governing society whereby each and every individual holds themselves responsible over the wellbeing of the entire community. Our society is to be economically self-sustaining and, as such, our aspiration is to be steadfast in our conviction that psychological and physical destitution can be averted."
The coordinate location of Christiania is .
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[edit] History
Christiania was founded in 1971, when many people from different backgrounds together began to take over an area of recently abandoned military barracks. At the time many people in the larger Danish cities felt betrayed by the politicians as there was a serious lack of housing. Also, the inhabitants of the surrounding neighborhood Christianshavn wanted a green, open area for their children to be in, away from the increasing traffic in Copenhagen. The spirit of Christiania quickly developed into one of communism, the hippie movement and the squatter movement. One of the more influential participants was Jacob Ludvigsen, who published a progressive and critical newspaper called Hovedbladet, which was distributed weekly to about 50.000 predominantly young people. In the paper Ludvigsen wrote an article in which he and 5 others went on exploration into 'The Forbidden City of the Military'. The article widely announced the proclamation of the free town and among other things he wrote: "Christiania is the land of the settlers. It is the so far biggest opportunity to build up a society from scratch - while nevertheless still incorporating the remaining constructions. Own electricity plant, a bath-house, a giant athletics building, where all the seekers of peace could have their grand meditation - and yogacenter. Halls where theatergroups can feel at home. Buildings for the stoners who are too paranoid and weak to participate in the race...Yes for those who feel the beating of the pioneerheart there can be no doubt as to the purpose of Christiania. It ıs the part of the city which has been kept secret to us - but no more."[citation needed]. In the ensuing 35 years that Christiania has existed many of Ludvigsen's dreams have been realized. Meditation and yoga have always been extremely popular among the Christianites, and for many years Christiania had their own internationally acclaimed theatergroup Solvognen, who - beyond their theaterperformances - also staged many happenings in Copenhagen as well as Sweden. Also the stoners and the paranoid have remained in Christiania all the time and are just as much a part of the Freetown as the entrepreneurs, and for this reason many Danes have seen Christiania as a succesfull social experiment. However, for years the legal status of the region has been in a limbo, as different Danish governments have attempted, without success, to remove the Christianites.
The neighbourhood is accessible only through two main entrances, and cars are not allowed (although some Christiania residents own a car, see below). The Danish authorities have repeatedly removed the large stones blocking the entrance and the residents have put them back. The authorities claim that they need access to the area for firefighting, but the residents suspect that it will instead be used by the police.
The people in Christiania have developed their own set of rules, completely independent of the Danish government. The rules forbid stealing, guns, bulletproof vests and hard drugs. Famous for its main drag, known as Pusher Street, where hash, Skunk weed and pot was sold openly from permanent stands until 2004, it nevertheless does have rules forbidding hard drugs, such as heroin and cocaine. The commerce is controversial, but since they require a consensus they can't be removed unless everybody agrees. The region negotiated an arrangement with the Danish defence ministry (which still owns the land) in 1995. Since 1994, residents have paid taxes and fees for water, electricity, trash disposal etc. The future of the area remains in doubt, though, as Danish authorities continue to push for its removal. On Pusher Street, cameras are not allowed, and locals will wave their hands and shout "No photo!" if they see someone trying to take a picture.
One of the biggest accomplishments in the history of Christiania was the Junk Blockade in November 1979. In 1979 things didn't look so bright for Christiania. The government was still very hostile but at the same time an even bigger enemy took hold of the place. Due to the liberal mind-set of the Christianites, sympathetic to attempts to expand one's mind, hard drugs such as heroin was not considered illegal, but this had grave consequences. Out of 700 inhabitants in the Freetown, 100 were doing hard drugs and sinking off into apathy, not caring about themselves or Christiania. In one year, from 1978 to 1979, ten drug addicts had died in Christiania, 4 of them residents there. The addicts all lived in a building called The Arc of Peace, but peace was the last thing one thought of when entering it in this period. Doors were missing, there were holes in the floors, and in most rooms there were no furniture except mattresses. It was a terribly unhealthy environment and the Christianites became increasingly aware that the situation could not continue.
An attempt was made to cooperate with the police in order to get rid of the heroin pushers which was something many Christianites felt extremely uncomfortable about - partly due to the anarchical tradition in the Freetown, partly because of the continuous clashes between Christiania and the police. Despite this hostility some Christianites felt there were no other way and supplied the police with a list of the suspected hard drug network as well as the hash network in order for the police to separate the two and only concentrate on hard drugs. This was promised to the Christianites. Unfortunately, the police didn't keep their end of the deal and made a huge crackdown - but only on the hash network, while the heroin ring was left untouched. Feeling betrayed and bitter the Christianites decided not to cooperate any further with the authorities and instead launched what was to be known as the Junk Blockade. For 40 days the Christianites, men, women, and children, patrolled The Arc of Peace and wherever they found junkies or pushers these were given an ultimatum: Either quit all activities with hard drugs or leave Christiania. In the end, the pushers had been forced to leave, and 60 persons had been sent to rehabilitation. From then on, and to this day, no hard drugs exist on Christiania and if found, they are thrown out, something that the police acknowledge too. In effect, Christiania is the only area free of hard drugs in Denmark and therefore the Junk Blockade has entered a considerable place in the mythology of Christiania, a symbol of the driving force of the Freetown which can be awakened in times of trouble.
Around 1984 the biker gang Bullshit had arrived to Christiania and conquered a part of the hash market. Violence on the premises increased at this period and many Christianites felt unsafe and unhappy with the new residents. This resulted in sabotage acts directed towards the bikers as well as the publication of several provoking fighting manuscripts urging the Christianites to throw out the powerful and armed bikers. This tension culminated when the police found a murdered individual who had been sliced to pieces and buried beneath the floor of a building. Christiania exploded in fury and two colossal community meetings were arranged - one outside the building - where it was agreed that the bikers had to leave. They did, and they never returned.
The inhabitants fight the government's attempts to eliminate them with humour and persistence. For instance, when authorities in 2002 demanded that the hash trade be made less visible, the stands were covered in military camouflage nets. On January 4, 2004, the stands were finally demolished by the hash dealers a day before a large scale police operation. They knew about this operation, and decided to take it down themselves. The police made more than twenty arrests in the following weeks though, and a large part of the organisation behind Pusher Street was then eliminated. This did not stop the hash trade however, it merely caused the trade to relocate outside of the town and on a person-to-person basis. Before they were demolished, the National Museum of Denmark was able to get one of the more colourful stands, which is now part of an exhibit.
From 1946 to 1950 29 people were executed at Bådsmandsstræde barracks, the military site which later was taken over by Christiania. The death penalty was re-introduced for collaboration with the German occupational force during World War II. Executions took place by firing squad at 2nd Redan, now known as Dyssen, the remote strip of land east of the moat.
[edit] Controversies
[edit] 2005 shooting and murder
On April 24, 2005, a 26 year old Christianite was killed and three injured in a violent gang shoot-out on Pusher Street. After the official closure of hash sale on Pusher Street many people moved huge amounts of hash out into Copenhagen and the provinces instead of Christiania. According to some the number of hash clubs in Copenhagen is now at least 5 times as high as before the police crackdown on Pusher Street, and in these clubs the sale of hash is now mixed with other drugs such as speed, cocaine, ecstasy and GHB. Furthermore many of these clubs are placed near schools. Especially in the North-Western part of the city many clubs have arrived and are controlled by quite heavy-armed gangs which have long tried to enter the hash sales on Christiania. Repeatedly they have asked the Christianite pushers to allow them on their market and repeatedly they have been turned down. On April 23, 2005, an escalation of the situation happened. The pushers of Christiania discovered that a member of the Copenhagen gangs had infiltrated their organisation by being with a female pusher - he was exposed and just barely escaped with two bullets flying by him. The next day 2 cars pulled up outside Christiania and 6-8 masked men with automatic weapons got out and headed for Pusherstreet. When they got there they simply opened fire indiscriminately toward the crowd and shot heavy rounds everywhere killing one and injuring 3 Christianites. In the trial it was established that the suspects belonged to gangs from the North-Western Copenhagen and that they all had pending charges of violence, shooting, robbing and so on. Some see this tragic incident as a sign that the the future strategy of the community is dubious. [1] Others see it as a result of the fatally flawed government line on Christiania which has greatly expanded the hash market in the rest of Denmark, bringing with it huge amounts of money and weapons.
[edit] 2004 TV feature
The political satirical TV show 'Den halve sandhed' ("The half truth") featured Christiania in its March 26, 2004, episode. As a tongue-in-cheek action, a journalist started to erect a small wooden hut in one of Christiania's open areas, naively claiming he assumed everyone could settle in the freetown. Within minutes, Christiania residents arrived and told him this was totally unacceptable. Approval by the community meeting would be needed, and for this personal acquaintances or connections were indispensable. The journalist was violently threatened to make himself scarce. Other residents, however, took the time to peacefully explain Christiania building rules. Later, journalists set up a stall attempting to sell 'non-politically correct' products such as Coca-Cola and Israeli oranges, arguing this was no worse than selling cannabis to minors. [2] Alleged by Danmarks Radio to test Christiania's tolerance towards the outside world, the happening did not amuse the residents. Nils Vest, a film director resident in Christiania, has accused the TV programme of being tendentious and biased [3], whereas others have taken the episode as a proof of faded collectivist ideals and bigotry within Christiania.
[edit] Cars
Within Christiania itself no cars are allowed. However, a total of 132 cars are owned by residents and need to be parked on the streets surrounding the Freetown. [4] After negotiating with city authorities, Christiania has agreed to establish parking areas for residents' own cars on its territory. As of 2005, parking space for only 14 cars had been established within the area. [5]
Before the city council elections of November 2001, residents in one of Christiania's sections proposed a municipal kindergarten just outside Christiania should be torn down and moved some hundred meters away, the area being turned into a parking lot. The proposal was criticised by other Christiania residents and citizens in the borough, but proponents claimed the wooden kindergarten buildings were outdated anyway and the parking space issue needed to be solved before Christiania itself would turn into an area where cars were widely parked. It has also been claimed that taxis and police vehicles add to the traffic problems. [6]
[edit] Gay house
Since the 1970's the Gay House (Bøssehuset), one of Christiania's autonomous institutions, had been a centre for gay activism, parties and theatre. The humorous and artistically high-ranking variete-style shows still have fame among Copenhagen gays. The original pioneers having aged (and for some part died) during the 1980's and 1990's, the house was less used and was empty from about 2000 onwards.
In 2002 a group of young queer performers and activists, Dunst, were invited to take over the house so it could remain a centre for gay creativity. However, after 9 months they were asked to leave Christiania again.
Dunst claim they introduced a democratic management form and established open workshops for photography, art, music, dance, video etc. They also arranged three Save Christiania nights, a cabaret show and three support parties in order to be able to downpay some of the Gay House's debt to Christiania. According to Dunst, however, neighbours would never readily accept them and the newcomers were accused of not understanding "the Christiania lifestyle". Dunst claim they received verbal abuse, threatening letters and were even, at one instance, threatened with a baseball bat. Some disliked Dunst's loud parties, their contemporary electro-punk style music being described as techno.
In 2004 Dunst participated in Christiania Distortion, an event supportive for Christiania. As they could not make use of the Gay House, Dunst's part of the event took place in a bus circling around Christiania. [7] [8]
[edit] Businesses
Christiania has become home to several independent businesses such as carpenters, blacksmiths, a bikeshop, as well as several cafés, restaurants, Jazz, Blues and night clubs. [9] [10]
[edit] Future of Christiania
The drug trade in Christiania has been a source of constant outrage for many Danish politicians and the current right-wing government is taking a number of steps to ensure that Danish law is respected in Christiania. The first step in this process was a police crackdown on the drug trade. Both politicians and police have declared that the drug trade will not be allowed to return. The second (and currently ongoing) phase is the registration of all buildings in Christiania. The third step will be the demolition of a number of shacks, constructed in a nature-preserved area (the historic naval fortress of Copenhagen). These buildings have all been approved by the authorities before the new government passed the current law on Christiania. For the last 15 years the government has not allowed construction in Christiania. This is now being enforced as a zero-tolerance policy with the help of a massive police presence. This is regarded by Christiania community as a government strategy to undermine the collective self-government of Christiania. They believe the Government is planning to sell out building rights to private enterprises [11], in an attempt to force the freetown to accept the paradigm of private ownership and market capitalization of private property. The ca. 900 inhabitants of Christiania have staked a claim for collective rights of use to all of Christiania, but this has been ignored by the government [citation needed].
[edit] Governmental normalisation measures
In 2004, the Danish government passed a law abolishing the collective and treating its 900 members as individuals. Beginning in the summer of 2005, a series of protests have been staged by Christiania members. During the same time, Danish police have made frequent sweeps of the area.
The Christiania Café Maanefiskeren (the moonfisher) installed an outdoor countboard of police patrols on Christiania in November 2005. In the summer of 2006 this passed the 1000th patrol (about 4-6 patrols a day). These patrols normally consist of 6 to 20 police officers, often dressed in combat uniform and some times with police dogs.
This has however not affected the street prices of cannabis in- or outside of Christiania. There has been no notable increase or decrease in "regular crime" in the area.
In January 2006, the government proposed that Christiania would be turned into a residential community adding condominiums for 400 new residents. Current residents, now paying DKK 1450 (USD 250) per month, would be allowed to remain but need to begin paying normal rent for the facilities, albeit below market rent levels. Christiania has rejected this scenario, fearing the freetown would turn into a normal Copenhagen neighbourhood. In particular, the concept of privately owned dwellings would be incompatible with Christiania's collective ownership. [12]
[edit] Architectural competition
In order to present a reasonable use of area after an eventual "cleaning", the Danish government commissioned an architectural competition. Only 17 more or less doubtful proposals have been sent in, of which only eight have met the formal competition requirements. All of these proposals have been rejected by the panel of judges who, nevertheless, have been required to dispense 850.000 Danish crowns (113.000 Euro, 145.000 USD) in consolation prizes.
[edit] External links
- Web site of Christiania
- Web site about Christiania (Artists support Christiania)
- Danish Palaces and Properties Agency about Christiania
- Satellite map from Google Maps
- Loppen - Rock and blues venue in Christiania
- Danish police evict trailersite in Christiania, Copenhagen Independent Media Center, September 8, 2006.
- Postal changes enrage Christiania, The Copenhagen Post, June 9, 2005.
- Government's Christiania proposal welcomed, The Copenhagen Post, April 9, 2005.
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | Danish architecture | Danish culture | Geography of Copenhagen | Visitor attractions in Copenhagen | Hippie movement | Special territories | Social movements | Intentional communities | Forms of government | Squats | 1971 establishments | Informal settlements | Ecovillages
