Taken from their upcoming album, 2026, out April 10th 2026 via Black Lion Records
Pre-order CD LP at https://music.blacklion.nu/RIKET-2026
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We remember “Storsvagåret”: The Year of Great Hunger in Sweden
Stockholm, 1892 – Few shadows loom as dark over our nation as the memory of Storsvagåret, the Great Year of Hunger in 1867. This dreadful chapter reminds us of nature’s cruelty and human frailty.
Spring that year arrived grievously late. Frost lingered into May, and hail and rain destroyed the meager plantings. Cold winds ruined summer crops, and by autumn, famine had taken hold. Starving peasants abandoned their homes, thronging roads in desperation. Entire villages fell silent, their inhabitants dead or fled.
Charity efforts were overwhelmed, and government aid proved insufficient. Greedy merchants raised bread prices, worsening the suffering. The harsh winter of 1867-68 sealed the tragedy, claiming thousands more lives.
By spring, mass graves marked the countryside, and emigration surged. Survivors bore deep scars, and Sweden’s population was cruelly thinned. Today, Storsvagåret stands as a somber reminder of nature’s might and the need for compassion and pre-paredness in the face of calamity.
Video by Micke André.
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