An urban explorer ventured into Europe’s only entirely lawless neighbourhood and was stunned by what he saw.
The hippie enclave of Freetown Christiania in Copenhagen was established on the site of a disused army camp in 1971, but became the focus of national concern after a shootout between police and a drug dealer that they were attempting to arrest.
Pusher Street has since been torn up by residents in response to increasingly violent gang activity. Urban explorer Joe Fish explained: “Up until very recently there was a major issue in Christiania, with the sale of hard drugs resulting in the demolition of Pusher Street.”
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(Image: Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima)
A sign erected over the rubble of Pusher Street reads: “Dear guest at Christiania. Over the years the presence of extremely violent gangs has increased to such an extent that the Christiania community has decided to close Pusher Street.
“The entire area will undergo transformation in the coming time and we dream of creating a vibrant cultural environment for the benefit of children and adults.” Some of the street’s cobblestones have been claimed by souvenir-hunters.
(Image: JoeFish/YouTube)
Despite the destruction of Pusher Street, the free zone still has an extremely relaxed attitude to Denmark’s drug laws. Joe points out: “I just went and got a lovely coffee in Christiania, and the lady serving me had the biggest joint that you could ever imagine hanging out of her mouth.”
At one point, he comes across a package of cannabis that appears to have just been forgotten by its owner. He continues: “I’ve just taken a little sit down on the bench here and to my right hand side on the floor is a big bag of the green stuff. I think somebody’s left it in a hurry.”
There are regular police patrols through Christiania these days and it’s possible that the oner of the bag of weed had just got nervous.
(Image: Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima)
Joe says it’s a pity that the open-air drugs market was co-opted by organised crime. “Personally I think it’s a real shame that the the vendors here were overtaken by gangsters …one of the locals said to me that it initially it started with free hemp for the people and eventually it led to gangsters taking over the area, causing huge problems for the actual residents,” he adds.
He says there were “a number of violent attacks and shootings,” which he thinks could be related to the fact that Christiania is only about half an hour away from Malmo, in neighbouring Sweden – which has gained a reputation as Europe’s gun-crime capital.
But there’s a lot more to Christiania than its drugs market. Practically every surface is covered with graffiti and street art. “At every turning in Christiania you’re greeted with more street art, more beautiful little quaint cafés – it’s got a really chilled out vibe here,” Joe says.
(Image: Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima)
While Christiania is largely independent of Denmark’s laws, there are some basic rules. A sign makes it clear that weapons, cars, bulletproof vests and biker gang colours are all banned.
At one point, cameras, too, were a no-no. Joe adds: “When Pusher Street was running you couldn’t just walk down there with a camera. You’d get yourself in a lot of trouble with the drug dealers there.
“However now Pusher Street’s gone the whole vibe seems to be a lot more relaxed.”
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