IT WAS a social experiment with an alternative way of life, which has existed in the heart of Denmark's capital for almost 40 years.
Now the future of hippie commune Christiania is under threat, as the government's ambition to "normalise" it moves closer to fruition.
Previous official attempts to get rid of the commune have always been abandoned, but now the right-wing gover
nment believes it should take control of the 85-acre site.
Christiania's residents have made legal objections to the plan and are now awaiting the result of the court case to find out if they will be allowed to continue their way of life or be forced out into the rest of society.
The government believes an agreement for Christiania's residents to live on the land ended in 2004.
Housed in a disused military barracks in Copenhagen's up-market Christianshavn suburb are around 1,000 "Christianites", many of whom have lived in the commune since its inception in 1971.
Officials want to build new flats on the site, which is currently a mix of 18th-century naval barracks and various random structures erected by Christianites over the years.
Christiania has its own moral code, own rules and even its own currency, the lon. A large wooden sign at the main entrance tells those exiting the community: "You are now entering the EU."
Police crackdowns on its main drag, "Pusher Street", have failed to stop open hash dealing – although hard drugs are severely frowned upon by the community and anyone found indulging is expelled.
A German-born carpenter by the name of Thomas, who has lived in the community for more than 20 years and whose former partner and 13-year-old son both grew up in Christiania, explained the attractions of living there.
He said: "We call it a community for losers. People fit in here who do not fit in mainstream society. If we lose our case with the government and we are made to live in a normal community, it will be very difficult for some people."
He added: "We don't bother people, so I don't know why they won't let us keep on doing what we are doing."
Christiania boasts its own concert hall – where singers such as Bob Dylan have played in the past – as well as a children's theatre, jazz club and cinema. Residents also run a number of restaurants – including a vegetarian café and a restaurant that achieved four-star status in local newspaper reviews.
Although residents pay taxes, they organise their own pre-school education and maintenance of infrastructure. They have a huge recycling facility, where they aim to recycle 90 per cent of all rubbish on the site.
Jens, who works at Christiania's opera theatre, added: "People have lived here so long, it is a way of life. I don't know what will happen if things change."
A spokesman for the Danish Government Palaces and Properties Agency said: "The ideal future would be that the objective of the Danish Christiania Act is met and the area legitimised. This does not mean, however, that the Christiania area should be standardised with other urban areas.
"The Danish government's objective for the development of Christiania is that the area shall continue to be a green, traffic-free area in Copenhagen; that an alternative lifestyle can still be lived but one that complies with the general rules of Danish law without a special act, without the hash trade, with rental payments and open housing allocation, with maintenance of preservation-worthy buildings and with maintenance and protection of the fortification as an open and recreational area for Christianites, Copenhageners and the public in general."
Ditle Folmer, who works in a café just outside the Christiania boundary, said the general feeling towards the community in Christianshavn was positive.
She said: "I don't think anybody in this area minds. There are those who say 'why should they get to live however they want and we have to obey the rules?', but generally, people are quite happy with them living there and getting on with doing things their way."
