Den Grå Hal

Den Grå Hal is the enormous, rough-hewn brick building with a sprawling arched roof that dominates the western end of Christiania. It served as a riding stable for the Danish military until the nineteen seventies. When the neighborhood declared itself a free town, residents claimed the vacant space as a communal venue. In nineteen seventy-eight, the Grateful Dead played here, cementing the hall as the heartbeat of the local music scene long before the city recognized the area as a permanent fixture.