One of Oslo's more obscure "inhabitants" is the tiger, a 4.5 metre bronze statue of it standing right outside Oslo S central station.

You will thus meet the tiger as soon as you arrive in the city.

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The statue of the tiger was donated to the city by one of Norway's largest real estate agencies, Eiendomsspar, at the city's express request to celebrate its 1000th anniversary. The tiger has stood in the square in front of the station since 2000.

Why a tiger?

Oslo boasts the well-known nickname "Tigerstaden", i.e. the tiger city, which all Norwegians know.

The Norwegian poet Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson referred to the city as a tiger in 1870 in a poem describing a fight between a tiger and a bear. The tiger represented the dangerous city, while the bear represented the safe countryside.

Nowadays, however, the term 'tiger city' is understood in a positive sense and symbolises the exciting and always fun Oslo.

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