This article and some HN comments paints an unfair picture of Christiana. I go there every now and then because of the nice vibe, lush green environments and musical events. No idea why there are comments about arabic majority. The place is full on european or scandic. In the end they sell cannabis, something that is widely used and partly legal in the US.
I'm a European immigrant to Copenhagen, and by chance lived on Christianshavn for the first few months, so I asked many Danes what they thought of Christiania.
There was a wide range of views.
Older people (40+) tended either to moderately disapprove, or to be very tolerant. Younger people (25-35) were more extreme; they either strongly defended the place as you do, or were definitely against it. I haven't asked enough youths to be able to generalize. People from Copenhagen were often less tolerant than those from Funen or Jutland.
I think it depends when people last saw it, how often, and in what circumstances they visited.
Going on a wet November evening just to buy drugs isn't great, it feels dodgy. Warm summer evenings are nice -- just like everywhere else in Denmark. Pusher Street felt very tense a couple of years ago; I was approached by "security" for having a camera over my shoulder, but this summer it's very relaxed, since the stalls are open and no longer covered in camouflage netting.
That cannabis is legal-ish in some of the US isn't especially relevant. It makes as much sense to compare a Danish pub during American prohibition.
I go there every now and then because of the nice vibe, lush green environments and musical events.
I visited Copenhagen last year and went to Christiana to see this vibe, greenness and artists. Instead I mainly saw teenagers drinking, and lots of litter. Another comment below mentioned that the legalization of drugs will hopefully bring Christiana back to what it used to be since it will not longer be the place to go get drugs.
I think it is really muddying the issue to conflate hash with "drugs". And I do think it was part of the original vision of Christiania that people should be allowed to smoke hash if they were so inclined. It was conceived as a "free town", not as a clean tourist attraction or art fair.
Christania is a big place, most tourists just take the quick tour through pusher-street and a few other places. You should have spend a bit of time there with a local. Been coming there for 20 years and i keep discovering new things and people there that amazes me. The greenness and artists is there as well if you know where to go.
Comments
This article and some HN comments paints an unfair picture of Christiana. I go there every now and then because of the nice vibe, lush green environments and musical events. No idea why there are comments about arabic majority. The place is full on european or scandic. In the end they sell cannabis, something that is widely used and partly legal in the US.
I'm a European immigrant to Copenhagen, and by chance lived on Christianshavn for the first few months, so I asked many Danes what they thought of Christiania.
There was a wide range of views.
Older people (40+) tended either to moderately disapprove, or to be very tolerant. Younger people (25-35) were more extreme; they either strongly defended the place as you do, or were definitely against it. I haven't asked enough youths to be able to generalize. People from Copenhagen were often less tolerant than those from Funen or Jutland.
I think it depends when people last saw it, how often, and in what circumstances they visited.
Going on a wet November evening just to buy drugs isn't great, it feels dodgy. Warm summer evenings are nice -- just like everywhere else in Denmark. Pusher Street felt very tense a couple of years ago; I was approached by "security" for having a camera over my shoulder, but this summer it's very relaxed, since the stalls are open and no longer covered in camouflage netting.
That cannabis is legal-ish in some of the US isn't especially relevant. It makes as much sense to compare a Danish pub during American prohibition.
I visited Copenhagen last year and went to Christiana to see this vibe, greenness and artists. Instead I mainly saw teenagers drinking, and lots of litter. Another comment below mentioned that the legalization of drugs will hopefully bring Christiana back to what it used to be since it will not longer be the place to go get drugs.
I think it is really muddying the issue to conflate hash with "drugs". And I do think it was part of the original vision of Christiania that people should be allowed to smoke hash if they were so inclined. It was conceived as a "free town", not as a clean tourist attraction or art fair.
Christania is a big place, most tourists just take the quick tour through pusher-street and a few other places. You should have spend a bit of time there with a local. Been coming there for 20 years and i keep discovering new things and people there that amazes me. The greenness and artists is there as well if you know where to go.
The best places to get illegal drugs are places you and I and most other people don't know about.
Makes me wonder whether there's an Agenda behind this article. Who's paying for it? Who's behind it?