Sunday, October 17, 2004
Save the Freetown of Christiania
Long Live the Freetown of Christiania!
The Danish government is once again trying to destroy the Freetown of Christiania, and it looks like time could be running out. But first, a little history....
The Freetown of Christiania is currently the world's longest lived contemporary anarchist community, now in its' thirty fourth year. It is an area of Copenhagen in Denmark that is home to around 1000 people, and is the second most visited tourist destination in Denmark. It is a community with a remarkable history and an uncertain future.
Christiania began in 1970, when a group of citizens looking for a playground and green space for their kids knocked down the fence of an abandoned military base in Copenhagen. Soon it filled with squatters, hippies, artists, anarchists and the like. They created art, served food, published a newspaper, and before long declared themselves an autonomous zone, a "Freetown." Before long they had their own flag, a form of "money", and the anger of the state to contend with.
Throughout the next thirty four years, Christiania grew. All forms of housing were created. Institutions such as theatres, childcare facilities, restaurants, sporting areas, parks, concert halls, beergardens and the like were established. People moved out, others moved in. Hippies were joined by punks and every other subculture known to Europe. It became a self-governing autonomous area, the highest governing board being a council in which all could participate, making decisions by consensus.
Needless to say, the authorities were not amused. From the beginning the Parliament and the police attempted to shut Christiania down. Their ire was drawn by everything from the appropriation of land abandoned by the State to the open use and sale of hashish. Over the years repeated, often violent confrontations with the authorities were endured by the citizens of Christiania. Yet the citizens resisted, negotiating with Parliament, giving some tactical concessions in order to retain as much autonomy as possible. Today they pay a token rent and tax for the land, and pay for the use of water and electricity provided by the State.
Even with these concessions, periodically reactionaries within Parliament and the Defense Ministry would insist that Christiania become "normalized." This year, Christiania faces the greatest threat it has seen in quite some time. The new government, an ally of the Bush administration in Washington, wants to regain a war footing, although with Europe in the most peaceful period of its entire history it is hard to see why. The Defense Ministry wants its' land back. The citizens of Christiania fear the bulldozers will soon be at the gates. Negotiations continue, but if conditions do not change it seems that Christiania will meet the same fate as all of the modern anarchist communities, from the Paris Commune on: death under the boot of the State.
Christiania is a fascinating story, a community with the good and the ills of any other, excepting perhaps the chokehold of authority on the creativity of its' citizens. For more information about the Freetown of Christiania go to Christiania. The site is in Danish, but if you click on the little English flag, there is a lot of information for English speakers as well.
The Danish government is once again trying to destroy the Freetown of Christiania, and it looks like time could be running out. But first, a little history....
The Freetown of Christiania is currently the world's longest lived contemporary anarchist community, now in its' thirty fourth year. It is an area of Copenhagen in Denmark that is home to around 1000 people, and is the second most visited tourist destination in Denmark. It is a community with a remarkable history and an uncertain future.
Christiania began in 1970, when a group of citizens looking for a playground and green space for their kids knocked down the fence of an abandoned military base in Copenhagen. Soon it filled with squatters, hippies, artists, anarchists and the like. They created art, served food, published a newspaper, and before long declared themselves an autonomous zone, a "Freetown." Before long they had their own flag, a form of "money", and the anger of the state to contend with.
Throughout the next thirty four years, Christiania grew. All forms of housing were created. Institutions such as theatres, childcare facilities, restaurants, sporting areas, parks, concert halls, beergardens and the like were established. People moved out, others moved in. Hippies were joined by punks and every other subculture known to Europe. It became a self-governing autonomous area, the highest governing board being a council in which all could participate, making decisions by consensus.
Needless to say, the authorities were not amused. From the beginning the Parliament and the police attempted to shut Christiania down. Their ire was drawn by everything from the appropriation of land abandoned by the State to the open use and sale of hashish. Over the years repeated, often violent confrontations with the authorities were endured by the citizens of Christiania. Yet the citizens resisted, negotiating with Parliament, giving some tactical concessions in order to retain as much autonomy as possible. Today they pay a token rent and tax for the land, and pay for the use of water and electricity provided by the State.
Even with these concessions, periodically reactionaries within Parliament and the Defense Ministry would insist that Christiania become "normalized." This year, Christiania faces the greatest threat it has seen in quite some time. The new government, an ally of the Bush administration in Washington, wants to regain a war footing, although with Europe in the most peaceful period of its entire history it is hard to see why. The Defense Ministry wants its' land back. The citizens of Christiania fear the bulldozers will soon be at the gates. Negotiations continue, but if conditions do not change it seems that Christiania will meet the same fate as all of the modern anarchist communities, from the Paris Commune on: death under the boot of the State.
Christiania is a fascinating story, a community with the good and the ills of any other, excepting perhaps the chokehold of authority on the creativity of its' citizens. For more information about the Freetown of Christiania go to Christiania. The site is in Danish, but if you click on the little English flag, there is a lot of information for English speakers as well.
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