Life in a Border Town

Living in Brätte meant living in a border region with a constant risk of war. Bohuslän was then Norwegian under Danish rule and trade across the border was often prohibited. The Swedish-Danish wars during the 15th and 17th centuries led to the parishes around Brätte being ravaged several times. In 1612, Danish troops marched into Brätte and a large number of farms in the surrounding countryside were burned and looted. At the same time, the town of Nya Lödöse was burned and taken. Many of its citizens then moved to Brätte. Another burden for the residents of these areas was that in times of unrest they were also forced to house and feed domestic soldiers on the march. And in the midst of this, everyday life still had to go on; work had to be done, the family had to be taken care of and life had to be lived…