[EN] Stockholm – Vasa museum
[disponible ici en français]
Vasa museum is one of the most interesting museum i’ve visited in my life. It is all about a huge 17th century Swedish warship, restored 95% similar as the original.
Vasa warship
Here is the text you can find on the leaflet (translated from the leaflet in french):
On August 10th, 1628, the Vasa entered the sea for its first journey ever and sank in Stockholm harbour. The wreck was rised in 1961 after spending 333 years at the bottom of the sea. This warship was restored similar 95% to the original, is wonferdully decorated with hundreds of sculptures.
Vasa is now one of the biggest touristic attractions in the world and offers a unique journey through Sweden during the 17th century.
This museum really amazed me. Besides the opportunity to see and visit an original warship, a real one; the Vasa museum offers multiple stands and little exhibitions explaining various things, such as:
- navigation of such a big warship,
- daily life on board this ship
- naval battles at this time
- the rescue of the wreck
- the different theories about the shipwreck
- a sight of the life in Sweden in 1628
- the conservation of the ship nowadays
- the story of some people that died during the shipwreck (some skeletons were pieced together)
- the construction site of the ship
- …
Model
The ship is now very old (more than 350 years) and ways need to be found to keep it preserved as long as possible. Therefore, for obvious reasons, it is not possible to actually go on the boat itself. However, with his 5 opened floors, many angles and many views of the ship remain possible. From the left, from the right, from the top, from the bottom, almost everything can be seen.
A model at a real scale of one of the upper deck even got reconstitured; where you can see many kids.
If this ship is so important, it is because the shipwreck made a lot of noise at this time (a bit like that of Titanic in 1912). Many years of constructions, hundreds of workers, square kilometers of construction sites, hundreds of cut trees… for only 1500 tiny meters in the sea.
There are multiple theories to explain that shipwreck; among them:
- Crew members was not prepared enough: more than sailors, they were villagers looking for a nice amount of money,
- the ship was way too light: at the departure, the tons of food were not yet on board; therefore the ship was really light and more sensitive to the wind,
- the ship was built and finished very quickly; probably too quickly. The king pressured the construction so that the ship would be finished quickly; for political and image reasons,
- …
Ok i hope you liked this presentation. I’m not a sailor, neither do i have a particular passion for ships or 17th century history; but i think it is not possible to remain insensitive to that amazing and huge ship.
From an other angle
I strongly suggest you to go.
Nicolas.
Some links:
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