Malin Matsdotter's Herb Garden | Witch Trials in Sweden

May 23, 2024

A major event took place in the fall of 2023 when Malin Matsdotter's Herbal Garden was inaugurated on Södermalm, as a memorial to Stockholm's witch trials. Here we interview the initiator Hella Nathorst-Böös . Join us on this exciting journey! We provide redress to those who died during the witch trials and at the same time honor the knowledge of herbs through the ages.

Who was Malin Matsdotter?

The official opening will take place on August 31, 2024, with a harvest market, the newly formed Witch Choir and other performances.

But we had an unofficial light procession where we walked 130 people with lanterns and bells at night around Halloween, says Hella Nathorst-Böös . We got the decision clear last fall and the grow boxes will be in place in the spring of 2024.

Malin Matsdotter was one of the nine sentenced to death for witchcraft in the Stockholm witch trials of 1676. Malin was the only one in the Swedish witch trials to be burned alive at the stake. The others were beheaded before the burning. Malin refused to confess to witchcraft until the very end, and was therefore considered to be particularly evil. Malin was over 60 years old, had immigrated from Finland in her youth, ran a public bathhouse and worked as a midwife. She was therefore an herbalist, since both of these jobs involved herbs. She herself had given birth to fifteen children, but only two survived to adulthood. The two daughters, under pressure, testified that their mother had practiced witchcraft.

Can you tell us about the process leading up to the City of Stockholm approving the herb garden?

I got the idea for a memorial eight years ago, on one of my first city walks. I noticed how little people knew about the city's witch trials, and wanted to provide redress to those affected by the witch trials through a memorial. Since then, more and more people have joined the process, and ideas have shifted about the memorial and where it should be located.

When we decided that the memorial should be an herb garden, and submitted a citizen proposal about it, all the pieces fell into place. The district council in Södermalm - where the Stockholm witch trials took place and those involved lived - agreed to grant the citizen proposal and partially finance it.

Please tell us about the non-profit association Malin Matsdotter's Garden Association!

How can we get involved in the work of Malin Matsdotter's Herbal Garden? How do we get in touch with the association?

We now have over a hundred members in the growing association that will establish and maintain the herb garden. Anyone is welcome as a member, even as a supporting member. Many members are inexperienced growers, but some are gardeners and experienced urban growers. Some currently have seeds at home, which will be planted out when we soon receive the growing boxes from the district administration.

We especially welcome anyone who is in town in July and can help water the herb garden then. It is usually a difficult month to get people to tend to the gardens in town. Members who are good at finance, administration and managing the website and social media are also sought.

In parallel with the herb garden, we will also pursue the issue of posthumously overturning the death sentences in the Swedish witch trials. It is a complicated process, and legal experts are therefore especially welcome!

It costs 150 SEK per year to be a member, but we do not have a bank account yet. The application has been sent to the bank, which is currently processing it. Anyone who wants to join the association can email us at Malin.matsdotter@outlook.com We will send you more information as soon as we have the bank account.

What herbs will be grown in the garden? What did you think about when choosing plants?

WE have chosen medicinal plants with an exciting history and/or interesting uses, and some of them have been used specifically by midwives. The midwives were often the same person as the wise old woman of the area, they were knowledgeable about herbs and were demonized by the church. That is why we want to have a herb garden. The plants are also chosen so that there will be flowers throughout the growing season, so that the herb garden looks nice and pollinators find nectar there.

The association is setting up a website where those interested can read more about the herb garden's plants, the background of the witch trials, and the people who were involved in Stockholm's witch trials.

In the picture above, we are taking seeds from black hollyhock to scatter in the herb garden.

Here is the full plant list:

Midwife herbs:

Peace of mind

Tansy

Lily

Dew cap

Raspberry

Other:

Hop

Chamomile

Thyme

Rosemary

Peppermint

Lovage

Turnip

Lavender

Red sun hat

Marigold

Plantain

Wormwood

Soapwort

Yarrow

Southernwood

Poppy

Snowdrop

Christmas rose

Sage

Mallow

Hop suction

Where in Södermalm is Malin Matsdotter's herb garden?

Between Sandbacksparken and Katarina Östra Kyrkogårdsgränd , 10 meters from Katarina cemetery. This is what the herb garden looks like today, before the first sowing has taken place. Help us spread information about it!