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Copenhagen - things to do, places to visit and general chat

Never been there, never heard of it, but I shall be spending the next few minutes learning about it! :D
 
I've been to Christania and was very impressed with the place and with the way the Danes let it exist. I think I 'd like living in Denmark...
 
Not been, always found the name hilariously ironic, not at all surprised but somewhat amused to read about how it's (not) worked out.
 
ICB said:
Not been, always found the name hilariously ironic, not at all surprised but somewhat amused to read about how it's (not) worked out.
It's a bit harsh to say that it's not worked out - it's existed for 35 years and in that time fed, housed, and looked after the social needs of tens of thousands of people...
 
the police have made them close down "pusher street",i heard...
they get hassled by the government for all sorts of stuff now...

(the danish government have always hated them,and will use every excuse to make their lives miserable)
 
Where the fuck have I been in the last 30 years? :confused: I can't believe I never heard of this place...
 
Yossarian said:
I've been to Christania and was very impressed with the place and with the way the Danes let it exist. I think I 'd like living in Denmark...
the Danes have the most strict immigration rules/restrictions in the whole of scandinavia.
They have closed,prison-like "camps" where they put asylum seekers until their cases have been decided.
They deny married couples where one is non-european,to get citizenship.
(these "love refugees" have had to move elsewhere to live together)
Their racist party got so many votes it is now directly influencing their government.
....Still want to live there?
 
I don't like the sound of their asylum policy much - but I find this country's foreign policy even more repulsive. At least in Denmark there's a robustly healthy left-wing opposition.
 
butchersapron said:
It's a bit harsh to say that it's not worked out - it's existed for 35 years and in that time fed, housed, and looked after the social needs of tens of thousands of people...

Ideologically rather than pragmatically then if you want to pick nits. :)

The poorhouses did all that for considerably longer, doesn't mean they were a success.
 
ICB said:
Ideologically rather than pragmatically then if you want to pick nits. :)

The poorhouses did all that for considerably longer, doesn't mean they were a success.
But they were an integral part of the state and it's plans, they were supported by the authorities - CH. had the state to fight against as well as capital, criminal gangs etc

And the way the place was run was always pretty pragmatic - there were no ideological courts or executions, no political trials or impositions.
 
butchersapron said:
But they were an integral part of the state and it's plans, they were supported by the authorities - CH. had the state to fight against as well as capital, criminal gangs etc

And the way the place was run was always pretty pragmatic - there were no ideological courts or executions, no political trials or impositions.
I think it has been very interesting the way this place has developed, the way they have sorted out problems and the general development of the place.

I have to say I am very surprised that so few people who post here have been, I'd have thought it would have been a bigger magnet to left-leaning dope smokers that Amsterdam.

It is really under pressure right now as it is the only "undeveloped" (not my term) part of Copenhagen and big money is to be made by developers if they can get their hands on it.

It would be good to debate the pro's and con's of the place and what goes on there but I fear not enough people know for that to happen.

Maybe a cultural trip in the spring should be arranged:)

BTW Pusher street is still there
 
I have been, but only for the afternoon.

Looks as though the same tensions that've always been there continue - which is why the Observer article is so all over the place - there's no news, so we'll have a bit of anarchist-bashing, a bit of snidery about Utopians, a bit of appreciation of what they've built, and we'll leave most readers feeling slightly relieved that they chose a dishwasher, chose a life insurance policy, chose haemorrhoids :)

My favourite Christiania legend is from many years ago: one floor of one of the big barracks buildings was taken over by junkies. They, and particularly their visitors from Denmark, were causing problems. A women's group wondered what to do to make it a safe space again. They ended up going in every morning - to do the washing-up. The junkies moved out. Apparently.
 
you often used to read in (scandinavian) papers that the police in copenhagen were working on a plan to storm christiania and close down pusher street. so the locals agreed to close it down on their own and get rid off all the booths selling cannabis.

the problem with christiania is that it's a huge area in central copenhagen, an area that some people very much would like to buy housing on and make a good profit. and the new right-wing government actually seem determined to do something about it, in contrast to the "let go"-attitude that's been the rule for so long.

sad.

(the whole area's nothing to visit though, overrated).
 
maya said:
the Danes have the most strict immigration rules/restrictions in the whole of scandinavia.
They have closed,prison-like "camps" where they put asylum seekers until their cases have been decided.
They deny married couples where one is non-european,to get citizenship.
(these "love refugees" have had to move elsewhere to live together)
Their racist party got so many votes it is now directly influencing their government.
....Still want to live there?

I see. They have an effective immigration policy, necessary for a small country.
 
1979

I've been there -- but I was only 15 at the time, and with my parents/brother and straight Danish relatives!!! :eek:

It was before I got into knowing what all that sort of thing ;) was all about. Would like to go back .... but Denmark is expensive ....
 
Sasaferrato said:
I see. They have an effective immigration policy, necessary for a small country.

Surely an 'effective' immigration policy would replace all the children that arent being born?

I'd rather have enough people working to pay muy pension thanks, no one in my family's lived to 70= no retirementfor me ever if the age goes up.

:(



Everyone knows hippys get all politicky if yo put enough together. I bet the Danish govt is glad they don't have that 13 year occupancy rule or they would own their 'commune' already.
 
Iemanja said:
Where the fuck have I been in the last 30 years? :confused: I can't believe I never heard of this place...
Me neither. :confused:
In 1973, in exchange for agreeing to pay for electricity and water, the commune was conferred with the status of 'social experiment'.
Can urban75 have this please? ;)
 
Yossarian said:
I've been to Christania and was very impressed with the place and with the way the Danes let it exist. I think I 'd like living in Denmark...

Yeah i was there many years ago and very impressed with its self-organisation of every thing i was...unfortunately the state has now decided to embark on a crash course of confrontation with the inhibitents.....paradoxically because they have made a previously run down area trendy and its market value has shot up....
 
cemertyone said:
Yeah i was there many years ago and very impressed with its self-organisation of every thing i was...unfortunately the state has now decided to embark on a crash course of confrontation with the inhibitents.....paradoxically because they have made a previously run down area trendy and its market value has shot up....
i always thought that the people who lived in christiania were best known for their lack of inhibitions, not for having loads of them.
 
cemertyone said:
Yeah i was there many years ago and very impressed with its self-organisation of every thing i was...unfortunately the state has now decided to embark on a crash course of confrontation with the inhibitents.....paradoxically because they have made a previously run down area trendy and its market value has shot up....
..it's like this all over the place now. :(
we have two occupied blocks here that have evolved into very exciting cultural communities,
artists and musicians and writers and ferstivals...
the city council have tried to threaten with eviction and police,
again because they wanted to tear down the buildings for luxury flats... :mad:
 
maya said:
..it's like this all over the place now. :(
we have two occupied blocks here that have evolved into very exciting cultural communities,
artists and musicians and writers and ferstivals...
the city council have tried to threaten with eviction and police,
again because they wanted to tear down the buildings for luxury flats... :mad:

Now why does that not surprise me......they have become so used to removing everything "from the street" that gives it its intrinsic value...all the things that make an area stand outside the given cultural and moral vibes of the day and make it attractive in the first place......all of a suden the area becomes "commerical valuable"...and its bye bye local people
 
Holidayed in Copenhagen with my children in summer 2003, spent a day in Christiania. Place seemed very peaceful & pleasant, not much different to a legal (rural) community.

The sprogs found Pusher Street hugely fascinating; I didn't buy any drugs because they were with me but got some paraphernalia as souvenirs and gifts. The stallholders were friendly enough, I didn't get any sense of intimidation, and didn't feel any qualms about letting the children wander.

I'd be sad if I thought they'd all be thrown out there, Christiania seems an important part of Copenhagen, and the city would lose a chunk of its soul if it went.
 
i first went to christiania in 97 roughly and loved it. went for a gig, wandered up and down pusher street gawping at the stalls and what was on offer, saw the band, got very stoned, as you might imagine, and kind of watched in befuddled slow motion as someone set their hair on fire by accident by wandering too near to a candle.

been back since to wander around the place during the day. oddly enough, it most resembles a lambeth council estate...
 
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