Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
Caucasus - Geghard Monastery, Armenia
Armenia • 15 days, 14 nights
Caucasus Road Trip: Azerbaijan, Georgia & Armenia
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Midas Tümülüsü (Tumulus MM)
The Devil's Column
Weightlifting Hall of Fame
The khao soi at Gedhawa comes with a rich, coconutty broth.
Gedhawa
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The khao soi at Gedhawa comes with a rich, coconutty broth.
Gedhawa
At Nai Mong Hoi Thod, the oyster omelet is worth waiting for.
Nai Mong Hoi Thod
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Customize your bowl with sliced pork, pork balls, fish cake, and offal.
Rung Rueang
Pasties are an Upper Michigan tradition dating back to mining days.
Lehto’s Pasties
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
For Aguilar-Carrasco, nature is a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of all life.
How Can National Parks Be Made Accessible to All? AO Wants to Know.
3 days ago
Podcast: Finding ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Louisville
4 days ago
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
5 days ago
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
6 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Sweden Gävle Gävlebocken

Gävlebocken

If there is one thing you don't want to be in Sweden during Christmas, it's a Yule Goat.

Gävle, Sweden

Added By
Stanislav Stanković
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Gävlebocken 2018   MATS ASTRAND/AFP via Getty Images
Gävlebocken 2018   MATS ASTRAND/AFP via Getty Images
2009 Yule Goat   Tony Nordin
  Sinikka Halme / CC BY-SA 4.0
Natural Science Club goat after the 2006 attack. The Southern Merchant’s Goat visible in background   Wikimedia
Southern Merchant’s Goat in 2006   Wikimedia
The aftermath of 1998 attack.   Wikimedia
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
Special signs   CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The small Swedish town of Gävle harbors a history of repeated sustained vandalism, unexpected in the polite mild-mannered Nordic country.

Making of Yule Goats, straw goat figures are an ancient Christmas tradition in Nordic countries, dating back probably even to pre-Christian times and pagan celebrations of winter solstice. In 1966 an advertising consultant, Stig Gavlén, came up with the idea of making a giant version a Yule Goat and placing it in the town square. Ironically the "chief engineer" on this project was his brother Jesper Gavlén, also the towns fire department chief.

At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, the goat went up in flames. Thus the tragic history of Gävlebocken began.

In the following years the goat has been burned a total of 23 times, in a few instances in mere hours after being assembled, sometimes even before being actually being built. In addition to that, it has been smashed to pieces several times, and once even run over by a car.

Vandalizing of the Yule goat has become something of a dark tradition for the town. The organizers went through a long list of measures to try to protect the goat, or at least ensure its survival until Christmas. The list over the years includes protection by police, firemen, hired guards, bands of volunteers, webcams and fireproofing the material with chemicals. The price tag of goat construction went up tenfold in years between 1996 and 2005, reaching 100,000 Swedish kronor. The 2005 attack sparked the biggest wave of inanimate-goat violence in Sweden so far, with half a dozen copycat goat-burnings all over Sweden.

Nowadays people can even place bets on the goat's survival with certain Swedish and British bookmakers.

Since 1986, two goats are built, one by a society of Southern Merchants and the other one by the Natural Science Club of Vasa School. This split is a result of the goats' complicated history, though both goats suffer the same inevitable fate.

In 2009, the Southern Merchants version survived an arson attempt on December 7. It was finally stolen on December 14. Someone tried to throw the Natural Science Club goat into the river on December 11. On December 23 this goat was torched after a coordinated DDoS attack on the two websites hosting live video webcam feeds.

Nothing, it seems, can save the Yule goat.

Related Tags

Holidays Goats Christmas Rites And Rituals

Know Before You Go

The goat is there from December 1st until Christmas.

Since 2019, there are also special street signs around the square where the goat is located. These hang year round.

Community Contributors

Added By

stanestane

Edited By

Kiri the Unicorn, CoolCrab, IJVin, Allison...

  • Kiri the Unicorn
  • CoolCrab
  • IJVin
  • Allison
  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

December 24, 2014

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavle_goat
  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8428650.stm
Gävlebocken
Gävle, 80251
Sweden
60.672778, 17.146389
Visit Website

Nearby Places

Gs 13 Runestone

Gävle, Sweden

miles away

Where All Powerlines Meet

Gävle, Sweden

miles away

Dragon Gate

Älvkarleby S, Sweden

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Gävle

Gävle

Sweden

Places 3

Nearby Places

Gs 13 Runestone

Gävle, Sweden

miles away

Where All Powerlines Meet

Gävle, Sweden

miles away

Dragon Gate

Älvkarleby S, Sweden

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Gävle

Gävle

Sweden

Places 3

Related Stories and Lists

13 Unusual Places to Ring in the New Year

List

By Roxanne Hoorn

17 Can’t-Miss Christmas Places to Visit

List

By Roxanne Hoorn

Will 2017 Be the Gävle Goat's Lucky Year?

fires

By Cara Giaimo

Baby Jumping and Worm Charming: 60 of the World's Oddest Traditions

List

By Molly McBride Jacobson

Gävle Goat Copycat Goes Up In Iceland

news

By Cara Giaimo

Our Favorite Scandinavian Yuletide Burning Goat Is Back! Here's a Timeline of the Unfortunate Fates of the Gävle Goat

rites and rituals

By Atlas Obscura

Related Places

  • Neuhausen, Germany

    Nussknackermuseum Neuhausen

    Home to the world's largest collection of nutcrackers.

  • Santa’s cabin outside of Uummannaq

    Uummannaq, Greenland

    Santa's House

    Danish children are taught that Santa lives in Greenland, at this exact cabin.

  • North Pole Post office

    Cascade, Colorado

    The North Pole

    This vintage theme park is peak Christmas kitsch—and it's open all summer.

  • Bronx, New York

    Bronx Christmas House of the Garabedian Family

    Because holiday cheer is at its finest when it includes eerie mannequins, right?

  • DOT Groningen

    Groningen, Netherlands

    World's Largest Christmas Bauble

    Every winter, this former planetarium is transformed into a massive, brightly-lit Christmas ornament.

  • Columbus, Texas

    Santa Claus Museum

    An entire home filled with over 3,000 pieces of Santa memorabilia in glass cases, walls, on Christmas trees, and even in the bathroom.

  • Mr. Snowball.

    Kaukauna, Wisconsin

    The North Pole of Kaukauna

    This animatronic Christmas village within an industrial park creates a whimsical juxtaposition.

  • Leiden’s Floating Christmas Market.

    Leiden, Netherlands

    Leiden's Floating Christmas Market

    A market built atop boats is one of the few floating holiday markets in Europe.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.