Climbing the spire is fun, but not entirely without risk (though the rumour that the builder fell off it and died, while believable, is untrue). To get to the spire, go through the church and up to a trap door which opens onto the platform where the external steps begin: there are 400 of them, slanted and slippery (especially after rain) and gradually becoming smaller. The reward for reaching the top is a great view of Copenhagen and beyond. Christiania A few streets from Vor Frelsers Kirke, CHRISTIANIA occupies an area that was for centuries used as a barracks, but which, after the soldiers moved out, was colonised by young and homeless people. It was declared a "free city" on September 24,1971, with a view to its operating autonomously from Copenhagen proper, and its continued existence has fuelled one of the longestrunning debates in Danish (and Scandinavian) society. One byproduct of its idealism and the freedoms assumed by its residents (and, despite recent lapses, tolerated by successive governments and the police) was to make Christiana a refuge for petty criminals and shady individuals from all over the city. But the problems have inevitably been overplayed by Christiania's critics, and a surprising number of Danes of all ages and from all walks of life do support the place, not least because Christiania has performed usefully, and altruistically, when established bodies have been found wanting. An example has been in the weaning of heroin addicts off their habits. Once, a 24hour cordon was thrown around the area to prevent dealers reaching the addicts inside: reputedly the screams of deprived junldes and suppliers being "dealt with" could be heard all night. And Christiania residents have stepped in to provide free shelter and dinner for the homeless at Christmas when the city administration declined to do so. The population is around 1000, swelled in summer by the curious and the sympathetic although the residents ask people not to camp here, and tourists not to point cameras at the weirderlooking inhabitants. The craft shops and restaurants are partly because of their refusal to pay any kind of tax fairly Cheap, and nearly all are good, and there are a couple of innovative music and погтадсе art venues. These, and the many imaginative dwellings, including me built on stilts in a small lake, make a visit worthwhile. Additionally, there a nimber of alternative political and arts groups based in Christiania, for on which and on the free city generally you should call in to •en'et (noon5pm), to the left of the main entrance on the comer of "«asmandsstraede and Prinsessegade. Along Vesterbrogade Hectic Vesterbrogade begins on the far side of Radhuspladsen from Streget, and its first attraction is, after the little Mermaid, Copenhagen's most famous the Hvoli Gardens (May to midSept daily lOammidnight; 33kr). This park of man; bland amusements first flung open its gates in 1843, modelled on the soontobedefunct Vauxhall Gardens in London, and in turn becoming the model for the Festival Gardens in London's Battersea Park.