Året var 1976

At the end of August 1973, a robber takes hostages at the Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg. A week or so later, on September 15, King Gustaf VI Adolf dies in Helsingborg's hospital and Sweden gets a new king: Carl XVI Gustaf. In Chile, the military takes power and the popularly elected president Salvador Allende is overthrown. That and much more in this column about the year 1973.

1965 - The Rolling Stones is coming to Sweden - a little rougher and tougher than The Beatles who were here a few years earlier. And the fashion trend is spreading across Sweden - to the horror of many. The medium-strong beer will start to be sold in Sweden - in regular grocery stores. And at the end of the year Hasse och Tage's new feature film with Gösta Ekman in one of the main roles premieres. Tragedies strike: 10 Swedish youths die in an avalanche, a tunnel collapse in Stockholm causes suspense. American astronaut Ed White spacewalks after the Soviet Union's Aleksey Leonov. Hep Stars led by Svenne Hedlund dominate with three top-ten songs, including "Cadillac."

The year begins with an energy crisis and petrol rationing. And there will be parental insurance so that even fathers can stay at home with their children. Cleaners around Sweden are on strike for better conditions. Worry grows for the Swedish tourists in the holiday paradise of Cyprus. That and much more in this column about the year 1974.

This is the year when the Vietnam War ends and terrorists take over the West German embassy in Stockholm. On TV, Staffan Westerberg's "Vilse i Pannkakan" coincides with Ingmar Bergman's "The Magic Flute". Despite the cold war, the USA and the Soviet Union take the opportunity to meet - in space! And Davis Cup tennis is played in Båstad. Sweden meets Chile and the police fear riots. This and much more in "The year was 1975" by Jonas Fohlin and Eva Tillberg.

1956 - the year when Elvis Presley breaks through and Grace Kelly celebrates a fairytale wedding in Monaco. In Ställdalen, a rail bus carrying schoolchildren is crushed and off New York m/s Stockholm collides with Andrea Doria. Frances Bulwark runs its last race and Swedish UN soldiers are flown to Suez. But most of all, it is the year of the Hungarian refugees.

1961 - the year when Swedish UN soldiers are in the crisis-ridden Congo and Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld dies in a plane crash. Swedish film's biggest hit, "Are there angels?", has its premiere with Christina Schollin in one of the roles. Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space and the Volvo P 1800 appears on the roads. Ewy Rosqvist is a rally ace and in April the regal ship Vasa is lifted up after 333 years at the bottom of Stockholm's stream. In August, the Berlin Wall is built and outside the Stockholm archipelago, Radio Nord broadcasts music and news.

1963 - the year when the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space. Sweden suffers from an smallpox epidemic - hundreds of thousands are vaccinated, and several thousand are isolated. Colonel Stig Wennerström is arrested for spying for the Soviets. John F Kennedy is murdered in Dallas, while Martin Luther King has a dream about the future, "Villervalle i Söderhavet" is shown on Swedish TV.

This is the year with a music party at Gärdet in Stockholm, and Lee Hazlewood and Nina Lizell wonder who can sail before the wind. The Vietnam War continues and the United States is bombing Cambodia. In Stockholm, police officers write in protest against poor conditions and the rockers take the chance to take over the town. During the "cannon race" on the Gellerås track, a fatal accident occurs. Director Roy Andersson's first feature film "En kärlekshistoria" is a must see.

1966 - when Bob Dylan visits Sweden and Prime Minister Erlander has a difficult time with questions about housing. A special evening at the opera is arranged with Harry Belafonte and Martin Luther King. Esrange is inaugurated and in China the cultural revolution is underway.

In the last year of the 60s, history gets the chance to breathe a little after the turbulent 1968. Pippi Longstocking rides into the television sets and the writers demonstrate for more compensation. There is also a space race - where both the Soviet Union and the USA send up their rockets. Towards the end of the year, Sweden finally gets its second TV channel, TV2.