“Pusher Street” is no more. On April 6, in a festive atmosphere, under a radiant sun, the inhabitants of the self-managed district of Christiania, in Copenhagen, unsealed the cobblestones of one of the most famous streets in Denmark. After a new wave of violence, which left three people dead in less than three years, the “Christianites” decided to destroy the hundred-meter-long alley once and for all, and to expel the pushers – “dealers” in English – by removing their stands, made from sheet metal and wooden pallets, which had made the area a tourist attraction.
Nearly seven hundred and seventy adults and two hundred and twenty children live in the enclave. For the event, described as“historical”they came as a family, bustling to the sound of Another Brick in the Wall (Pink Floyd) in the speakers. The paving stones pass from hand to hand and are piled up under a covered courtyard. Some keep one as a souvenir. Others immortalize the scene on their phones, defying for the first time the signs painted on the walls by drug dealers, which prohibit taking photos on Pusher Street.
Neon orange Lycra t-shirt and black jogging pants, Klaus Danzer swallows back his tears. Of German origin, this 59-year-old carpenter has lived in the neighborhood for around thirty years. Two years ago, he became the face of the Nok er nok – “enough is enough” – movement which emerged after the execution of a 22-year-old Christianite on Pusher Street on July 3. 2021, “probably killed by mistake”, according to Klaus Danzer, who had known the victim since she was little.
A collective decision
In October 2022, a 23-year-old man was shot twice in the head, not far from the alley. Then, on August 26, 2023, a shooting broke out. It’s around 7:30 p.m., the area is crowded. A man, linked to the gang community, is killed. Four passers-by were injured, including two foreign tourists. The next day, residents gather at Den Grå Hal, a concert hall where Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Metallica have performed. They decide to close Pusher Street.
This is not the first time that Christians have tried to get rid of drug dealers. “This time, it’s different, because the decision does not come from the top and we have the support of the State and the City,” assures Mette Prag, architect, one of the spokespersons for the district. The mayor of Copenhagen, Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, and the Minister of Justice, Peter Hummelgaard Thomsen, came to have breakfast with the residents on April 6, before each leaving with their own paving stone.
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