Fortunately, the Vasa still sank in the Baltic Sea

katrin-lux (65)in TravelFeed • 3 years ago

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Hey guys,

today I continue with my travel - series about Stockholm, and I wanna show you the Vasa- Musem. The Vasa Museum is named after the Vasa, it was the most magnificent and expensive warship of the Swedish Navy. It is also so famous because it sank on its maiden voyage.

i am sorry for the blurred pictures ;)

The story of the ship

And herewith I would like to briefly tell you the story of the ship: In 1625 the king, King Gustav II Adolf, commissioned the Vasa. More than 1000 oaks were used for the warship. At that time these ships were called shelf ships. The ship was to be the most magnificent and the strongest in the Swedish fleet.

As you can already see on the ship, there was everything in various designs: cannons, gigantic masts, and the ship's ceilings and walls covered with golden and painted wooden figures.

And so the Vasa went under faster than expected

For the maiden voyage or the departure from the port, many people from Stockholm come, some from further away. Still at the harbor they witness the sinking of the Vasa: A small gust of wind hits the sail and the Vasa leans to one side, water flows through the cannon hatches, and the Vasa sinks in the harbor.

But why did the Vasa go under? This question is relatively easy to answer. It was probably not uncommon at the time for the fleet to occasionally lose a few of its largest ships. It was the 17th century and ship technology was not as mature as it is today. Probably the mathematical and physical knowledge was not yet sufficient. So it was probably a construction or construction error.

Which was also a challenge: the Vasa was heavier and therefore had to be built to be more stable. Shortly after the sinking, attempts were made to salvage the ship in order to save at least a few more valuable items. It was not found at the time, however, only some time later.

Correct recovery only began in 1961, 333 years after the sinking.

What I found very interesting and would not have thought so:

Because the Vasa had sunk in the middle of Stockholm and thus sunk in brackish water, it could still be salvaged in very good condition. Because the water in the Baltic Sea is not very salty. For this reason, wooden ships can lie here for centuries without being completely destroyed. The shipworm, which otherwise always drills the ships, is not at home here because the water is not very salty. So lucky!

After the salvage, every ship is preserved for the first time, which alone took almost two decades.

Finally, in 1990, Carl XVI Gustaf opened the museum built especially for the Vasa, and the public could inspect the ship.

And now to the museum: The Vasa Museum in Stockholm is the most visited museum in Scandinavia. It is located in Sweden on the island of Djurgården. I can really recommend a visit to the museum! Visiting the museum is almost a must when visiting Stockholm because it is full of history. You can plan an hour or two for the tour, definitely not a full day. I'm not a ship lover, but I was very fascinated by the sight and history of this huge ship!

Above all, it was great to see how little the ship was destroyed, even though it had been lying in the Baltic Sea for so long - and I don't see such an old and well-preserved shipwreck every day!

The museum has several floors that are built around the ship, so that you can walk around it at whatever height you want and you have a 3D view.

As you may have already seen, the F photos are not the best (it was a bit dark) and the whole ship does not fit in one photo - because it is simply too big and the museum too small. But you can overlook that, right ?! ;)