A former hippie paradise recently associated with the violence of drug trafficking, the libertarian enclave of Christiania, in the heart of Copenhagen, is making a clean sweep by demolishing Pusher Street on Saturday, its main artery where cannabis was on sale over the counter.
At the end of August, the residents, called Christians, decided that this street known for its hashish stalls should be closed after an assassination, the fourth in three years, definitively shattering the image of a somewhat crazy but peaceful community.
Pusher Street “has deteriorated into a really not nice place, (the dealers) fight among themselves, against people, they are violent,” laments Hulda Mader, spokesperson for the Christianites. Previously, the police had several times destroyed the stalls which had always resurfaced. Saturday morning, it will clear up.
Loose paving stones
“We're going to remove all the stores and small cannabis shops, that's our first task of the morning. Then we will ensure that the area is calm and quiet,” explains Copenhagen police official Simon Hansen.
Christianity and history on Pusher Street https://t.co/4T385uo3Al pic.twitter.com/3AgVvy1ZeA
— TV 2 NEWS (@tv2newsdk) April 6, 2024
For their part, the Christians will materialize the closure by removing the paving stones from the road. “We are going to take paving stones and give them to those who want. This is a sign that Pusher Street is evolving from a street of drug dealers to something else,” explains Hulda Mader.
For the septuagenarian, a resident since 1994, what matters is that the majority of the neighborhood's thousand or so residents support the change. “Their commitment is crucial,” notes the mayor of Copenhagen, Sophie Haestorp Andersen. “This is the first time that they have united and taken a stand against rampant crime and insecurity in their neighborhood. » “Digging up the street and making it a construction site will inevitably make sales very difficult. But this is only the beginning,” she adds.
A “free city” in the heart of Copenhagen
In 1971, hippies created the “free city of Christiania” in a former abandoned barracks to create a commune, which, according to its statutes, “belongs to everyone and to no one” and where every decision is, still today , taken collectively.
In this 34-hectare waterfront enclave, the sale and consumption of cannabis is illegal but tolerated, which has led to drug trafficking and the emergence of gangs. “Five, ten years ago, (the sellers) were primarily locals but now, gangs manage this drug market,” notes Simon Hansen.
“For too long, we have accepted that drug dealers sell weed and drugs like freshly picked strawberries and peas to tourists and Copenhagen residents alike,” notes the mayor.
At the beginning of August, for a day, Christians blocked non-residents from accessing the Free City, visited by more than half a million tourists each year, "in the hope of freeing Christiania from the tyranny of gangs." ".
“New chapter” for Christiania
In 2023, the police, who do not give figures on the quantities of drugs seized, arrested some 900 people in connection with drug trafficking in the neighborhood. With this “new chapter,” they intend to “clean up” the street, “make it pretty,” says Hulda Mader, who lives in a large house that she shares with her son and his family. “We are going to repaint, rebuild the buildings,” she adds. “We want to be associated with art, culture, theater, as was the case before. A really nice place where people come to relax.”
Because Christiania is also an island of greenery, where you can hear the birds chirping along the path of the ancient ramparts. With the hoped-for end to drug trafficking, the community wants to build on this postcard image and its artistic vitality. Concerts in particular are legion.
She must also undertake to build housing for some 300 new arrivals, a project whose details have not yet been decided but with which she hopes to attract families with children. Currently, 25% of the population of Christiania is over 60 years old.