The witch trial in Torsåker 1 June 1675

1 June 1675, 71 innocent people, including 65 women, 2 men and 4 boys, were beheaded and burned during the witch trial in Torsåker, Ångermanland. The charge was witchcraft.

Every fifth woman in Torsåker, Dal and Ytterlännäs parishes was murdered. In some families, several generations of women are said to have been murdered because it was believed that witchcraft was passed on and taught from parents to children.

"The faith of the age affects man." is written on a large memorial stone on Häxberget in Torsåker. Our time is no different in that respect. Those who want to read more about this horrific event can continue reading here.

It would be another 104 years, until 1779, before the punishment for witchcraft was abolished in Swedish law.

Curiosity about Torsåkers parish(Wikipedia):

Name

The name (1344 Thorsakir) contains the prefix Tor and the suffix field and originally referred to a holy field, near the church.

Ancient monuments

Around 35 ancient monuments have been found and preserved. Most of the remains are burial mounds from the Iron Age. A large number of mounds have also been removed over time. There are two ancient castles. One is located next to the Ångerman River at Prästmon and is the remains of Styresholm Castle from the Middle Ages, which was part of the country's defence system.

Investigations of the so-called Skeleton Cemetery in Björned show that it has been a burial place since the Migration Period, where Christian burial practices were adopted at the latest in the early 11th century. DNA shows that several of the persons were probably related, belonging to the Germanic ethnic group, while one had Sami ancestors. However, isotope analysis shows that they came from different parts of the country. The cemetery is interpreted as an early farm or village cemetery, probably belonging to a farm church built on private initiative, close to a trade route with many connections to the southern Baltic Sea area. The farm cemetery was abandoned at the end of the 13th century, after a common parish church had been built in Torsåker.

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