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Christiania, Denmark

Christiania Free Town

by Edward Mooney, Jr. 2000-12-08

Christiania 'Free Town', Copenhagen, Denmark

Since 1971, there has existed a so-called free town, Christiania, within the city of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is in practice an alternative society with a liberal view on drugs. It has a population of probably around 1000 people.
by Per Iko, 10 September 1996

The three yellow discs represent the three "i"'s in the name 'Christiania'.
by Ivan Sache, 7 December 2000

The free city of Christiania was founded on 26 September 1971 by a group of hippies who had settled in the barracks of Badmandsstraede, on the Amager island in Copenhagen. The Danish Parliament (Folketing) legalized the city in 1989 and exempted the Christianians from laws on heritage and environment conservation. In 1991, a local law made of Christiania a "free zone", open to all, car-free and placed under the responsibility of its inhabitants. Christiania has officially 878 inhabitants, including 150 children. Each inhabitant of Christiania has to pay a monthly rent of 1,600 Danish crowns (215 euros) for electricity, heating, road maintenance, land tax, child-care center, kindergarten, leisure and other public costs. The Danish government has decided to "normalize" the situation of the enclave. A commission made of ten members worked ten months and wrote a report of several thousands pages, without drawing radical conclusions.

Source: An article by Hans Drachmann, originally published in Politiken (Copenhagen), and partially translated into French in Courrier International, #705, 6 May 2004.

A picture illustrating the article in Courrier International shows a dog bearing a badge based on the flag of Christiania. The badge is red with three yellow hearts placed horizontally and the words Bevar Christiania (Bevar above the hearts, Christiania below it) in black.
Ivan Sache, 31 May 2004