Copenhagen’s hippie oasis Christiania ‘don’t want gangsters any more’ as it eyes life without illegal hashish market
- On Saturday, residents will start digging up Christiania’s infamous Pusher Street, after which they can receive government money for the area’s renovation
- Christiania residents, fed up with criminals and drug crime, hope the community can remain an alternative yet legal part of Copenhagen without criminals
The now-ageing hippies who took over a derelict naval base in Copenhagen more than 50 years ago and turned it into a freewheeling community known as Christiania want to boot out criminals who control the community’s lucrative market for hashish by ripping up the cobblestoned street where it openly changes hands.
Over the years, there have been many attempts to halt the illegal hashish sales which have often ended in violent clashes between criminal gangs and police, with trading then quickly resuming. On Saturday, residents will start digging up Pusher Street, after which they can receive government money earmarked for the area’s renovation.
The plan is to create “a new Christiania without the criminal hashish market”, said Mette Prag, coordinator of a new public housing project in the enclave. Prag, who has lived in Christiania for 37 years, likened it to “a village”.
“We don’t want the gangsters any more,” said Hulda Mader, who has lived in Christiania for 40 years. Once the illegal trade is gone, “there might be some people selling hashish afterward, but it’s not going to be in the open”.
After the cobblestones are removed, new water pipes and a new pavement will be laid on Pusher Street and nearby buildings will be renovated. That is the first step in an overall plan to turn the hippie oasis into an integrated part of the Danish capital area, although “the free state” spirit of creativity and community life is to be maintained.
