My beloved Oslo - the two lions

Two lions have been guarding the Parliament since 1865.  They are designed by the  Norwegian sculptor Christopher Broch. Most Norwegians don't know that they are crafted by two prisoners. This one was made by Gulbrand. He came from a poor family and had a hard life with a criminal father. In his twenties he and his friend, Knut, get the brilliant (not!) idea to make fake money.  The quality is bad,  so the police is after them quite quickly. The friend Knut get his own brilliant (not!) idea to blackmail Gulbrand. If Gulbrand doesn't  give him a large sum of money, he will tell the police that Gulbrand is the guy they are after. 

Gulbrand begs, but his brilliant friend will not change his mind. Then Gulbrand gets a brilliant (not!) idea to solve the problem. He asks Knut to meet him in the black dark night, he doesn't have money, but Knut can get some stolen goods. The only thing Gulbrand has, is a knife in his pocket.

Jepp! He kills Knut with 13 stabs and after he tries to chop his head off!
Gulbrand gets death penalty, but the Supreme Court decides that he will be sentence to life in prison as a slave.  

The brilliant sculptor Christopher teaches prisoners to crave in stone. Years go by.  

The Parliament building is finished. It lacks grandeur,. Christopher draws two lions. It cost money to make the sculptures. No money left. Christopher persuades the Parliament to let Gulbrand to do the craving. 

When he finished, he and his wife get the brilliant idea to submit a pardon application since he actually has craved the first Norwegian sculpture located in open air and granted the Parliament grandeur. It took some years, but he got his freedom. His remarried when his wife died, and  emigrated to America where he got a job with clearing the prairie.