Omnibus prik

Four students, one week and a commune, 1974 A.D.

"Four young students wanted to live in an apartment furnished as a commune from 1974." That was what Omnibus posted in a Facebook update which in no time was shared 31 times and seen by almost 7,000 people.

[Translate to English:] Lene Vestergaard og Christian Budde hygger med te i tunge lerkrus (og cigaretskod i orange askebæger) i stuen i kollektivet anno 1974 i Den Gamle By. (PR-foto: Lasse Lundberg Andreasen)

The level of interest in spending a week living in the commune in Den Gamle By (The Old Town) in Aarhus was also overwhelming. Sixty applications from a total of 220 young people flooded in, says Project Coordinator Lotte Rystedt.

The lucky winners were three students from AU: Christian Storgaard, who is studying molecular biology, Christian Budde, who is studying computer science, and Lene Vestergaard, who is studying medicine.

I’m taking the tie-dye shirts home

"So it’s the last day in the commune …"

"I’m taking the tie-dye shirts home and wearing them! Otherwise I’ve got mixed feelings about leaving here. It’ll be good to come home to my own things, but I think I’ll really miss the place."

"I’m going to miss the colours, the one-channel TV, the analogue camera, that I don’t have a mobile phone, but especially the discussions."

Writes Lene Vestergaard in her diary from the week back in 1974.

All the students kept a diary during their stay. Read them here (in Danish): kollektivetdengamleby.tumblr.com

Translated by Peter Lambourne.