Taterholmen

The little island you can see on the map on the floor is called Taterholmen. Why was it called that? The obvious answer is that it refers to people who moored their boats off this island, known in Norwegian as “tatere”.

A societal problem

The group name tatere is controversial. Along with other words meaning “tramp”, “vagrant” etc., tatere was often used by people in general as a term of abuse in the 19th and 20th centuries. Tatere were perceived to be a societal problem, and – unsurprisingly – they were systematically oppressed by the authorities. In 1998, the Norwegian authorities officially apologised for the way the group was treated.

A national minority

Within the group itself, there are differing views about how tatere should be referred to. Today, both the terms romanifolk (Roma) and tatere are used in Norway. The Roma are one of Norway’s five official national minorities.