Stockholm’s Vasa Museum

Although the purpose of this museum is to house what remains of a single 400-year old ship, I spent over two hours here and could easily have stayed longer. What a ship and what a story!

Built at the best of the powerful Swedish king, Gustavus Adolphus, the ship was meant to be his flagship and planned accordingly, or rather over-planned and vastly overweight above the water line. After christening, the ship set out on a maiden voyage with gun-ports open and promptly sank some 20 minutes later. Rushed planning, lack of strict oversight, and incremental additions to basic ideas that effect vessel (or plane, etc.) integrity are not unknown in our age either.

The oaken vessel was re-located in the 1950s and salvaged, starting a decade later. The amount of preservation that still exists after all those centuries is remarkable, and much effort is put into seeing is remains that way, now that’s it’s been brought to the surface