Ragundasjön / Döda fallet, 6–7 June 1796

The Man Who Drained a Lake

In 1796 the merchant Magnus Huss, known as Vildhussen, was hired to build a timber flume past the enormous and treacherous Storforsen so timber could be floated down to the Västernorrland coast. During the night of 6–7 June the river cut through the sand ridge that dammed the giant Ragundasjön. In just four hours the entire lake emptied. A colossal flood rushed down the Indalsälven into Ångermanland, tearing away houses, boats and forest and permanently changing the river's course. Miraculously no one died. Today the tourist attraction Döda fallet remains — a gigantic waterfall completely dried up in a single night.