On 10 August 1628 Vasa, a Swedish warship of grand proportions, took the shortest maiden voyage in history … 1,300 metres and no farther. Still within sight of the shipyard where it was built, Vasa heeled to port under a gust and water gushed in through its lower gun-ports, still open from a ceremonial canon firing. Within minutes, the ship was lying on the sea bed 32 metres below. Thousands of Stockholm’s inhabitants witnessed the tragic scene (30 people died), together with several foreign ambassadors and other dignitaries. What began in hope and ambition ended in national embarrassment and tragedy.

In the early 17th century, Sweden was a rising European power under King Gustavus Adolphus. To strengthen his navy and exert dominance in the Baltic region (e.g. fighting those pesky Catholics in Poland), he commissioned the construction of the Vasa, a grand warship intended to be the pride of the Swedish fleet. The ship was built in the Stockholm shipyard under the supervision of Dutch master shipwright Henrik Hybertsson.

Construction began in 1626, and the 69-metre-long Vasa was designed to be one of the most powerful warships of its time, equipped with 64 bronze cannons, two gun decks and ornate decorations that symbolised Swedish power and prestige. All of the firepower was crammed onto both the ship’s lower and upper floors, making for a somewhat top-heavy design. Whoops!

The loss of the Vasa was a blow to both the prestige of Sweden and its economy—one from which its navy never fully recovered. Though the Swedish court looked long and hard for a guilty party, none were found, and the official investigator, upon being asked the cause of the sinking, replied “only God knows”.

The wreck of the Vasa remained underwater for 333 years. In the late 1950s, interest in recovering the ship grew, and a Swedish engineer named Anders Franzén, who had been searching for historical shipwrecks, located the Vasa in 1956. Salvage operations began in 1961, and the ship was brought to the surface largely intact, thanks to the cold and brackish waters of the Baltic Sea. Ironically it was the heavy pollution of the Swedish bay that killed wood-eating microorganisms and helped preserve the ship.

After its recovery, extensive efforts were made to preserve Vasa and prevent deterioration. The ship was housed in a temporary museum before being moved to the Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet) in Stockholm, which opened in 1990. The museum showcases the ship itself, along with thousands of artifacts recovered from the wreck, including tools, weapons, clothing, and personal items of those on board.

Today, the Vasa Museum is one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions, drawing millions of visitors from around the world. Visitors to the museum are consistently awe-struck by the sight and size of the ship as they enter the multi-level space. It is quite simply staggering. And indeed, in 2015 the Vasa Museum made it onto the top 10 list of the world’s best museums according to TripAdvisor, then the world’s largest travel site.
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References

vasamuseet.se
wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship)
atlasobscura.com/places/vasa-museum
bbc.com/reel/video/p075964l/finding-the-ship-lost-for-more-than-300-years

Images

1. Sustainable Stockholm meeting at Vasa Museum. Photo credit: Anneli Karlsson.
2. Vasa sailed less than a mile before sinking. Source: Vasa Museum.
3. Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden from 1611 to 1632. Credit: Jacob Hoefnagel.
4. Model of the Vasa interior. Credit: Vasa Museum.
5. Vasa canons. Credit: Vasa Museum.
6. Colourful Vasa. Credit: Vasa Museum.
7. Sculptures and carvings recovered from the Vasa
8. Black and white photo of the Vasa after being raised, 14 May 1961
9. Vasa Museum logo
10. Vasa in situ within the Vasa Museum, Stockholm, Sweden
11. Model of Vasa. Credit: SavyBoat Models.
12. Video: The Incredible Story of Sweden's Vasa Warship, 2018, Joshua Hanlon, Destinations of History