This true story likely took place in the early 1800s—perhaps even earlier.
The manor (set in Dalarna, Sweden) was ruled by a stern ironworks master and his merciless wife. In preparation for a grand celebration, servants worked day and night under the strict hand of the mistress.

In one of the cottages, young maids brewed beer—a grueling task that wore them down.
One of them, exhausted, stepped outside for a moment and stumbled toward the outhouse.
Time passed, but she didn’t return. The irritated mistress found her asleep, slumped in fatigue.

In a fit of rage, the mistress struck the maid in the head with a heavy iron key—killing her instantly. The key was thrown away and lost for years.

The maid was buried a few hundred meters from the house, beside an old country road now overgrown and forgotten. The grave lies on a small hill called Robacken, marked only by a few simple stones. Peaceful, yet unsettling.

Some say the maid had become pregnant, and that was the true cause of her death.
But no one knows for sure. Was the mistress ever punished? Did anyone even learn of the crime?

What we do know is this:
In the silent woods, beside a vanished road, lies the forgotten victim of what became known as The Key-Slaying.

The manor stood abandoned for years. Today it looks peaceful—restored, with horses grazing under the sun. But beneath the surface lingers a darker past—
The tale of a murdered maid, her name long lost to time.

And today, just today—we remember her.
Do not forget her.

The Key and the Silent Grave - The Key-Slaying at Robacken

Johannes Hällegrim