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All Sweden Uppsala Pelle Svanslös Crosswalk

Pelle Svanslös Crosswalk

Uppsala's adorable feline sign celebrates a popular children's book set in the Swedish city.

Uppsala, Sweden

Added By
KoinuSensei
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The cat sign with a female crossing sign.   KoinuSensei / Atlas Obscura User
The cat sign with a female crossing sign.   KoinuSensei / Atlas Obscura User
The cat sign with a male crossing sign.   KoinuSensei / Atlas Obscura User
The crosswalk is in front of Carolina Rediviva Library.   Alexander Engström/cc by-sa 3.0
Sign near Uppsala Castle   CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The road signs in front of Carolina Rediviva Library in Uppsala have something unusual: cats. On closer look, you might notice the adult cat leading kittens has no tail. He isn't just an ordinary bobtail cat. He's Pelle Svanslös ("Peter No-Tail" in English), a popular character from a children's book series with the same name.

The Pelle Svanslös series—there are 12 books in total—was written by Gösta Knutsson between 1939 and 1972. As his name suggests, Pelle has no tail. A rat bit his tail off when he was a kitten. But despite this mean mishap, Pelle grows into a kind-hearted young cat. He has been loved by many Swedish children for decades.

Pelle and his feline friends live in Uppsala, Sweden, where the author also lived for many years of his life. To mark the cat's popularity, Uppsala added some features related to the children's literature star around the city, such as a statue, a peep-hole (his residence), and these crossing signs.

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Children's Literature Cats Signs Libraries Animals

Know Before You Go

The sign is about 20-minute walk from Uppsala Station. The road signs are on Övre Slottsgatan and Drottninggatan streets.

Community Contributors

Added By

KoinuSensei

Edited By

CoolCrab, Kerry Wolfe

  • CoolCrab
  • Kerry Wolfe

Published

March 8, 2019

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Sources
  • http://www.destinationuppsala.se/en/To-do/peter-no-tail/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelle_Svansl%C3%B6s
Pelle Svanslös Crosswalk
Fjärdingen
Uppsala
Sweden
59.855126, 17.631394
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