The Black Death, which struck Sweden between 1350 and 1351, was one of the most devastating events in the country’s history. Like much of Europe, Sweden suffered tremendous loss of life, with an estimated one-third of the population perishing. The plague’s impact was so severe that the country did not fully recover for nearly 300 years, causing a demographic, economic, and social crisis that reverberated for centuries.
1346–1353 spread of the Black Death in Europe map. @ Flappiefh
Sweden at the time was in a personal union with Norway under King Magnus Eriksson. In 1349, Magnus issued warnings about the plague, which had already spread through much of Europe, including neighboring Norway. Despite attempts to prevent its arrival through religious acts of penance, the Black Death entered Sweden in 1350, first appearing in the port city of Visby on Gotland, likely by ship. The plague spread quickly across the country, reaching Stockholm by August. Though contemporary records of the plague in Sweden are scarce, its progression is indirectly traced through church documents, wills, and reports of mass deaths.
The devastation was immense. Farms and villages were abandoned, leading to long-lasting depopulation in many areas. The population loss disrupted the social order, with a disproportionate number of lower nobility and clergy dying, while the higher nobility and bishops survived relatively unscathed. The economic fallout from the plague led to a crisis in agriculture and labor shortages, which in turn triggered social tensions. Attempts by the nobility to impose serfdom failed, unlike in Denmark where the nobility succeeded in tightening control over peasants. The scarcity of workers and increased demands from the surviving population caused friction, leading to peasant uprisings later in the century.
The Black Death left a lasting cultural and religious legacy in Sweden. The population decline was often invoked as the reason for Sweden’s small and scattered settlements in the following centuries. Local legends and religious interpretations of the plague, such as those from Saint Bridget of Sweden, framed it as divine punishment for human sins. The memory of the plague lingered, shaping Sweden’s sense of vulnerability and contributing to later political crises and social tensions, such as those during the Kalmar Union and the peasant revolts of the 15th century.