Hippie haven
May 1, 2011
The 900 residents of the Christiania district of Copenhagen have agreed to pay for the former Marine training ground they settled on in 1971.
The community lost a legal battle earlier this year, in which they'd tried to assert their right to continue to live in Christiania.
They have collectively agreed to pay the sum of 150 million Danish kroner (20 million euros, $29.6 million) to continue living in their semi-autonomous commune.
Turbulent relations
For a long time, the community was allowed to exist until the government cracked down on the open drug trade in the commune in 2004.
The government then threatened to to tear down ramshackle buildings in the municipality and the resultant protests became violent.
The residents had sued the government in 2006 seeking acknowledgment that they had the right to use the land, but in February, 2011, the courts ruled in favor of the state.
Christiania is one of Europe's last remaining hippie enclaves, counting around 1,000 hippies, artists, activists and misfits as residents.
Author: Stuart Tiffen (dpa, AP)
Editor: Nicole Goebel