The days of independence for Copenhagen’s Freetown Christiania have come to an end, as the Danish courts rule to return the hippie commune to state control, reports Routard.
The town of Christiania, also known as Freetown, was founded in 1971, when a group of hippies took over a deserted naval base and established there their own community. For forty years, the nearly 1,000 residents of Christiania have lived by their own rules, independent of the Danish government. The commune has developed its own anthem, flag, currency and laws, which include a ban on traffic, photography and bulletproof vests.
Drawing over a million visitors a year, Freetown is Copenhagen’s third most popular tourist attraction, and people come from around the world to see the homes made from psychedelically-painted military barracks, or to buy marijuana, which is legal within Freetown and sold openly on Pusher Street.
For years, lawyers for the residents have been trying to overturn a 2009 ruling that would return power to the state, saying it would violate the European Convention of Human Rights.
Now the Danish courts have made their official ruling, striking down the appeals and officially returning Christiania to Danish rule.
"The court procedure is over. Now it’s time to think about the future," commune spokesperson Thomas Ertmann told Presseurop.