The late 18th and 19th centuries were lean years in the Eifel . Farmers owned little enough livestock without the sicknesses that struck both cattle and swine in these years , which not only decimated herds but also raised the price of meat . Furthermore , a column of 40,000 Russian troops who passed through the needy region in May 1814 on their way back home to Russia did not help matters . The Kingdom of Prussia acquired not only new territory under the terms of the Congress of Vienna , but also no dearth of new problems . Worst of all was the Year Without a Summer – 1816 – which almost drove the Eifel into famine
Year Without a Summer
Year Without a Summer
Schönbach, Rhineland-Palatinate