Häxberget (Bålberget), Torsåker – the 1675 witch trial site

Västernorrland · Sweden · Execution site

Häxberget (Bålberget), Torsåker – the 1675 witch trial site — Västernorrland · Sweden · Execution site

At Häxberget in Torsåker, 71 people – almost all of them women – were executed for witchcraft in 1675. A memorial stone from 1975 marks the site.

Häxberget, also known as Bålberget, is a hill in Ytterlännäs parish in Kramfors Municipality, Ångermanland, Sweden. It stands where the three historic parishes of Torsåker, Dal and Ytterlännäs meet. A memorial stone marks the place where 71 people, almost all of them women, were executed for witchcraft in 1675.

The executions formed part of a period known as Det stora oväsendet, the Great Witch Panic, during which approximately 300 people were executed across Sweden between 1668 and 1676.

The Great Witch Panic

The trials began in Älvdalen in 1668, where accusations involving Gertrud Svensdotter helped set events in motion. Stories spread about children supposedly being taken by witches to Blåkulla, an imagined gathering place associated with witchcraft.

Thousands of children eventually made such claims. In Mora in 1669, the government sent a special witchcraft commission. Approximately 230 children and young people claimed they had been taken to Blåkulla. Around 70 people were accused, and 15 were executed.

Similar commissions were subsequently used elsewhere. In Ångermanland, approximately 400 suspects and thousands of children were questioned within a single year. By 1675, at least 100 people had been executed in the region.

The Torsåker Investigations

In the autumn of 1674, the investigations reached Torsåker pastorate, which included the parishes of Torsåker, Dal and Ytterlännäs.

The district court held hearings at Hammars gästgivaregård, a local inn. Proceedings began with Torsåker on 19–21 October, continued with Dal on 21–27 October, and concluded with Ytterlännäs between 28 October and 3 November.

Sixty people were sentenced to death, while another eleven cases were referred to the witchcraft commission.

One of the central figures was Laurentius Christophori Hornæus, also known as Lars Hornæus, a chaplain in Ytterlännäs. He used coercive methods to obtain testimony from children and even had his own mother condemned for witchcraft.

1 June 1675

According to the Diocese of Härnösand, the 71 condemned people received their final communion at Torsåker Church on 1 June 1675, following a sermon of condemnation.

They were then taken to Bålberget, where two executioners, an execution block and a pyre awaited them.

The precise date remains uncertain. A master's thesis places the executions between March and June 1675, while the original records of the witchcraft commission have been lost.

Much of what is known about the events comes from a manuscript written in 1771 by Jöns Hornæus (1715–1778), the grandson of chaplain Laurentius Hornæus. Its title translates approximately as A True Account of the Terrible Witchcraft Disturbance That Took Place 100 Years Ago. The manuscript is preserved at the National Library of Sweden.

By 1676, the trials were coming to an end. The final commission concluded that journeys to Blåkulla could not be proven, and proceedings were instead brought against some of the most active accusers.

The Memorial Stones

In 1975, on the 300th anniversary of the executions, a memorial was erected on Häxberget. It consists of a stone block divided into two sections, approximately four metres in size, and is registered with the Swedish National Heritage Board as Ytterlännäs 29:2.

Its inscription reads:

HERE WITCH PYRES BURNED IN 1675 WOMEN DIED MEN PASSED JUDGMENT THE BELIEFS OF THE AGE AFFLICT HUMANITY.

This is an English translation of the original Swedish inscription.

On 24 May 2025, during the 350th anniversary commemorations, another memorial stone was unveiled at Torsåker Church. It bears the names of those executed, each name having been individually checked.

Finding Häxberget

Visitors can park beside the road south of Häxberget. A sign marked “Häxberget” indicates the way to the memorial.

From the parking area, an easy footpath leads a few hundred metres uphill to the stone.

An alternative route begins at Torsåker Church, where a walking trail called Häxstigen, meaning the Witch Trail, leads towards the site.

Other sources about this place

FAQ

Where is Häxberget (Bålberget), Torsåker – the 1675 witch trial site located?

Häxberget (Bålberget), Torsåker – the 1675 witch trial site is in Västernorrland, Sweden.

More haunted places in Västernorrland

Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Y-näsmannen · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons