Christiania, a testimony to alternative living - in pictures

An inhabitant of the self-styled freetown, known for its relaxed lifestyle and attitude to drugs Photograph: Jens Noergaard Larsen/AFP/Getty Images

Painted faces in the mid 1980s Photograph: Homer Sykes/TravelStockCollection/Alamy

A cyclist rides under a sign leading to the district. The waterfront community feels like an oasis with rosebushes and wild hedgerows intertwined between the decorated haphazard houses, workshops and cafes Photograph: Bob Strong/Reuters

Hash and marijuana sold in Pusher Street, Scandinavia's largest open soft-drug market Photograph: Yadid Levy/Alamy

A mural on one of the many buildings in the 34 hectares area which has become a warren of micro-neighbourhoods Photograph: Michael Juno/Alamy

A resident leaves his circular home Photograph: Bob Strong/Reuters

At least 53 people were arrested as hundreds of police tried to thwart the sale of hashish in March 2004 Photograph: John McConnico/AP

Residents take pre-emptive action to dismantle the hash booths after the government threatened to have police tear them down. Photograph: Carl Redhead/EPA

Police officers stand behind a building in Christiania after riots broke out in December 2009 Photograph: Graversen Thomas/AP

Residents outside the Copenhagen high court in May 2009 after losing a case over their right to stay on the former naval base Photograph: Jens Noergaard /Scanpix Denmark/Reuters