Vasa (ship)

Vasa was a big Swedish warship. The ship was built from 1626 to 1628. The same year Vasa was ready outside Stockholm, but sank by accident on her maiden voyage (first trip). Vasa sank because she was too heavy on top. Those who built her knew that she had problems, but they didn't dare say that to the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus. He was not in Sweden when Vasa was built and he wanted her to go fight in the Thirty Years' War as soon as possible. There was a hearing about why Vasa sank, but no one was found guilty or judged for her sinking.

Swedish divers in diving bells brought up some of Vasa's cannons from the sunken ship in the 1660s. Anders Franzén found Vasa in 1956 after he had read about the ship in sources and looked for her in the water around Stockholm. The ship was brought up in 1961 and was then treated with special chemicals so that it would last for a long time. The preservation treatment took almost 20 years to complete. Vasa is now in the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. It is a very popular place for tourists to visit. It gets more than one million visitors every year.

When Vasa was brought up there were thousands of things inside her. There were bones of people, clothes, weapons, tools, coins, food and even some of the sails. The things and Vasa have been very good for historians, because they helps them understand how it was in Sweden in the 1600s. Vasa was a very expensive ship and was one of the largest in the world. She had hundreds of sculptures, and they were painted in many colors. She was a symbol of how powerful Sweden wanted to look and how good the Swedish king was.

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StockholmOurWay
18 October 2013
Join our tour Stockholm Must Sees and skip the line at the Vasa Museum. The tour starts with a walk of the Old Town, we then catch the ferry to Djurgården and finish off with a visit to the Vasa.
D A
3 May 2016
its amazing to see Vasa after 333 years staying underwater! The statues, and the ship are unbelievable. What an honour for Swedish people to protect this history. And the entrance is 130 SEK
Lisa Starbucks
28 May 2016
The museum has several levels so you can see the ship from all angles. The best section is "life on board" and the movie about Vasa. I got bored quite quickly though...
Kyze
20 June 2015
Cool and worth the visit. Discount for students. It will take you one or two hours to see everything (although apart from the boat there's not much to see). Go early, it gets crowded.
Fred Spofforth
4 January 2020
Fabulous museum with a monumental exhibit. The tour and film were both interesting. Don’t forget the lowest level for the view up to the top and the forensic examination of the bodies found on board.
Bilal Arpacı
15 November 2017
Welcome to the biggest ship that remained one piece from 17th century. You will enjoy this place and expect to stay at least 1,5 hrs. Also don’t forget to watch the Vasa movie in the entrance floor.
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