Gavle goat sign – Söder, Sweden - Atlas Obscura

Gavle goat sign

Söder, Sweden

Special signposts meant to warn people of a nearby giant straw goat 

1
0

The Gavlebocken or Gavle goat is without doubt the cities larges and most prolific attraction. Each year thousands of people visit the town just to see this straw monstrosity, often early on in fear of it getting burned. 

Due the popularity of the goat amongst winter tourists and its relative proximity to uppsala and Stockholm, the groups of visitors become larger and larger each year. This is both a source of joy and worry to the municipality and each year more measures are taken to secure the area and make it more safe for people taking photos. 

This year two rather radical changes were made, first the goat was rotated so that its face faces the other side of the road, which is more accessible to larger groups and secondly the square got marked with a unique traffic sign that warns oncoming traffic of the area and the possibility of people on the street taking selfies. Of course the uniqueness of the signs themselves have made them very popular spots for photos.

Know Before You Go

the signs are freely accessible all year around