Vasa Museum, Stockholm, Sweden - SpottingHistory.com

The Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet) is a maritime museum displaying the only almost fully intact 17th century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship Vasa that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. Opened in 1990, the Vasa Museum is one of the most visited museums in Scandinavia.

The main hall contains the ship itself and various exhibits related to the archaeological findings of the ships and early 17th century Sweden. Vasa has been fitted with the lower sections of all three masts, a new bowsprit, winter rigging, and has had certain parts that were missing or heavily damaged replaced. The replacement parts have not been treated or painted and are therefore clearly visible against the original material that has been darkened after three centuries under water.

The new museum is dominated by a large copper roof with stylized masts that represent the actual height of Vasa when she was fully rigged. Parts of the building are covered in wooden panels painted in dark red, blue, tar black, ochre yellow and dark green. The interior is similarly decorated, with large sections of bare, unpainted concrete, including the entire ceiling. Inside the museum the ship can be seen from six levels, from her keel to the very top of the stern castle. Around the ship are numerous exhibits and models portraying the construction, sinking, location and recovery of the ship. There are also exhibits that expand on the history of Sweden in the 17th century, providing background information for why the ship was built. A movie theatre shows a film in alternating languages on the recovery of the Vasa.

The museum also features four other museum ships moored in the harour outside: the ice breaker Sankt Erik (launched 1915), the lightvessel Finngrundet (1903), the torpedo boat Spica (1966) and the rescue boat Bernhard Ingelsson (1944).

References:

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User Reviews

adele zhao (2 years ago)
We were a bit skeptical of a museum dedicated to a single ship but it's amazing and way bigger than expected. It has a lot of information on restoration/preservation of the ship as well as what life would have been like plus some cool facial reconstructions. I'd recommend going to the movie and tour included in the ticket. 10/10 worth checking out if you're in Stockholm.

Monika Kolodziejczyk (2 years ago)
Nice place to visit. Impressive view of the ship. Wide opening hours. Small but nice restaurant upstairs. Visit takes up to max. 2 hours. Possible to get there with public transport but also easy walk within 30min.from city centre (main train station). I

Ashwin Sathrughnan (3 years ago)
Beet there twice by now! It’s a well organized museum and has a Swedish minimalistic approach to how the information is organized. I just loved that fact that they have also incorporated technology to demonstrate how it was like during the time when Vasa was being built. If you happen to travel around Stockholm, Vasa should be on the top of the go to places as museum. Furthermore, there are many museums located near Vasa.

Tobias Kiener (3 years ago)
Absolutely amazing. You have to see this. Worth every penny. The picture won't do justice. Unbelievable good work on the preservation and the museum is just gorgeous. It's not a typical museum where you to read long texts for some stuff behind a glass window. It is right in front of you and the view of this ship will take your breath away every single time you look at it

Kathy Miller (3 years ago)
We were not prepared for how WONDERFUL this museum is! Had read about it, but the shear size and workmanship of the Vasa will truly amaze anyone. Allow enough time. There's a lot to read and see. All ages except the very young would enjoy. A very memorable experience.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

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Historic Site of the week

Glimmingehus

Glimmingehus is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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