The Police Museum marks the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Ryesgade during Culture Night 2026 with an extensive program on the squatter movement (BZ), house evictions, and Copenhagen's urban history from the 1980s. Experience dramatic talks, lectures, a pop-up photo exhibition, and guided walks through Nørrebro.
Program
- Talk: Østerbro as an Occupied War Zone (7:30 PM) – Historian and former activist René Karpantschof in conversation with museum director Frederik Strand about the Ryesgade occupation in 1986, when activists barricaded the street for nine days and confronted police.
- Lecture: House Evictions as Special Operations (6:30 PM and 9:00 PM) – How the Action Squad developed new tactics to evict occupied houses with minimal force, from the rubber factory eviction in 1981 to the Youth House in 2007.
- Walks through Nørrebro (departing regularly 6-10 PM) – Choose between a rebellion walk with stories of street battles and squatting, or a crime cases walk exploring the district's criminal history.
- Pop-up photo exhibition – See behind the barricades of Ryesgade through historical photographs.
- Museum exhibitions and vehicles – Freely accessible without pre-registration.
Practical Information
Access requires a Culture Pass (125 kr.), which provides free admission to all Culture Night events plus free transport in the capital area for you and two children under 12. Passes are sold digitally on the Culture Night website and physically in 7-Eleven stores in the capital area. Talks, lectures, and walks require pre-registration and a Culture Pass – museum exhibitions and the photo exhibition require only the pass without registration.
