Christiana - now leaving the Ell

Christiana

Christiana is a difficult place to describe.  It's one of those places you just have to see, especially since it is against the law (what law?) to take pictures there.  It is a city within a city - right in the heart of Copenhagen.

We heard about Christiana from Matias and Maren, our German hippy friends.  They told us about the city within the city, but we honestly had non idea what to expect, and certainly didn't expect what we found.

After the military abandoned their complex in Christiana, the squatters moved in.  The city had a difficult time keeping control over the area and the people who moved in eventually declared it a free state.  Apparently decades ago it was a "blossoming" hippie heaven (according to a local).  

Because of the high volume of drugs moving through the area, the city finally raided Christiana in 2004.  Even then they have had difficulty keeping control over the area, and the 850 or so residents never left.  Since then Christiana has begun to "blossom" once again.

The first thing you will notice when you enter Christiana is that you have left the surrounding beautiful and historic buildings and are now in some kind of slum.  Old rotted out buildings stand along the streets, now occupied by Marijuana dealers.  Their tables are full of weed, hash, and joints.  Imagine the scariest Russian gangster you've seen complete with matching Adidas jumpsuit and you are approaching the sketchy nature of these guys.

A single guy sits at every table.  We approached one to chat them up but it became very clear they were not interested in talking to us.  They wouldn't even look at us, their eyes were darting around and they generally seemed very nervous.  We learned from observation the procedure here - step up, hand them you money, take your stuff, and get the hell out of there.

In front of one such stand was a well.  Piled on top of it was probably 50 very large bricks of hash.  

Along with the many drug dealers you will find a Christiana gift shop, a cafe, and a few other snack stops.  Bewildered tourists who stumbled haplessly into the area walk through the streets in awe - into Christiana and right back out at the jest opportunity. 

We stopped for a drink at the cafe.  The atmosphere could be described as a college party.  Lots of people, lots of weed, lots of beer.  We found a spot inside to relax and charge Stu's phone.  

The free town is governed by "Christiana Common Law.". Signs around the area show the three rules:

1. No hard drugs
2. No fighting
3. No weapons

Very large signs as you enter also show cameras with red circles around them crossed out.  There is no photography in Christiana.  That didn't stop me from snapping a photo inside the bathroom.

We went out side and sat down.  I spotted some friendly looking locals and went to ask them about the area,  at first you could tell they were really nervous to be talking to me, but eventually they warmed up.  They told me about how Christiana was at war with the city, and how the area could be raided again at any moment (the cast raid was a week or so ago).  

They told me there is no running there'll,  if you are running, you have done something wrong.  However, if two people are running that means the cops are coming and you should probably run too, unless you like the taste of tear gas.  The Christianas have a network of guards throughout the city surrounding city watching for for large groups of police moving towards the area.  

I asked what would happen if I snapped a photo.  They pointed at a random guy and told me he would come make me stop.  Apparently he was a guard, but I would have otherwise had no idea - just a kid standing around near the cafe.  They said he probably wouldn't get violent with me, and the only time people get violent in Christiana is when someone steals something, or when someone asks the drug dealers for hard drugs.

Speaking of the dealers, they gave me a little more insight to what was going on there.  Each lone salesman sitting at the table is flanked by 2 or 3 scary looki dudes in jump suits who stand there behind him with their arms crossed.  One of the guys is a "fall guy.". He is paid to stand there and, in the event that the police come, grab the stuff and try to get away.  The dealer won't get into any trouble and the fall guy is paid for his services.

I was kind of amazed by the system in Christiana.  It's all self governance - the rules are just understood and people have their little jobs to keep the community going,  for example, while we were sitting in the cafe a scary looking gangster came by and checked the bathrooms, picked up some trash, restocked the hand towels, etc.  It was a very funny image.  Is this guy getting paid to be here?  Is he working his way up in the gang?  

Signs around the area have different slogans.  One says "traditional wisdom and technology must go hand in hand.". This belief is evident in all the modern conveniences found in Christiana, despite its slum nature, they do have electricity, credit card machines, drink machines, etc.  I don't know how you would get electricity to a place like this in then unites states, much less a credit car merchant account for your shanty cafe.

Christiana is truly a unique and bizarre place.  I cant comprehend how it manages to operate, self govern, and get away with selling drugs out in the open in a place where they are technically illegal. The city must be embarrassed that tourists can walk right through here and see how Copenhagen can't keep control over their people.

At the same time, there was some suggestion that the city would rather have the drug trade in the city centralized.  If it can be sold openly in Christiana, then at least all the drug dealers will hang out there rather than everywhere else in the city.  Something like Christiana could actually clean up the rest of your city.

Still, the war continues.  The police will come in full riot gear, and the people will revolt and fight them off with fire and rocks and sticks.  The police there won't use guns against their own people, so it just continues.  Riots, fights, police pressure, but the city cannot get rid of Christiana.