Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The community pays the city about $1 million a year for utilities and has
about $1 million a year more to run its local affairs. A few “luxury hippies”
have oil heat, but most use wood or gas. The ground here was poisoned by
its days as a military base, so nothing is grown in Christiania. There's little
industry within the commune (Christiania Cykler, which builds fine bikes, is
an exception—
www.pedersen-bike.dk
). The community has one mailing ad-
dress (for 25 kr/month, you can receive mail here). A phone chain provides a
system of communal security (they have had bad experiences calling the po-
lice). Each September 26, the day those first squatters took over the barracks
in 1971, Christiania has a big birthday bash.
Tourists are entirely welcome here, because they've become a major part
of the economy. Visitors react in very different ways to the place. Some see
dogs, dirt, and dazed people. Others see a haven of peace, freedom, and no ta-
boos. Locals will remind judgmental Americans (whose country incarcerates
