Christiania
A barracks squatted in 1971, now a free commune of nine hundred people.
Duration
1 hr – 2 hrs
Best time
Middle of the day
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
In 1971 squatters walked into an abandoned barracks in Christianshavn and declared the free town of Christiania. Fifty years on, nine hundred people live there on thirty-four hectares, with their own flag, their own rules and an assembly that decides by consensus.
The status has been negotiated, contested and partly regularised: the residents collectively bought the land from the state in 2012. Pusher Street, where cannabis was sold openly, was dismantled by the residents themselves in 2024 after years of gang violence — they took sledgehammers to their own stalls and asked the police in.
Getting there
Christianshavn metro station, then ten minutes on foot. The main entrance is on Prinsessegade.
Rules on site
Photography is banned in several streets and is firmly enforced: put the camera away without arguing. Do not run inside the district — the rule dates from the era of police raids and it still stands.
