Christiania, known as Freetown Christiania is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighborhood of about 850 residents, covering around 34 hectares in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Civic authorities in Copenhagen regard Christiania as a large commune, but the area has a unique status in that it is regulated by a special law, the Christiania Law of 1989 which transfers parts of the supervision of the area from the Copenhagen to the state. Among many Christiania residents, the community is known as staden ('the town'), short for fristaden ('the freetown').