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:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

adele zhao (16 months 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 (16 months 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 (2 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 (2 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 (2 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.

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From its origin as a small stronghold built by the ancient Illyrian tribe Dalmatae, becoming a royal castle that was the seat of many Croatian kings, to its final development as a large fortress during the Ottoman wars in Europe, Klis Fortress has guarded the frontier, being lost and re-conquered several times. Due to its location on a pass that separates the mountains Mosor and Kozjak, the fortress served as a major source of defense in Dalmatia, especially against the Ottoman advance, and has been a key crossroad between the Mediterranean belt and the Balkan rear.

Since Duke Mislav of the Duchy of Croatia made Klis Fortress the seat of his throne in the middle of the 9th century, the fortress served as the seat of many Croatia"s rulers. The reign of his successor, Duke Trpimir I, the founder of the Croatian royal House of Trpimirović, is significant for spreading Christianity in the Duchy of Croatia. He largely expanded the Klis Fortress, and in Rižinice, in the valley under the fortress, he built a church and the first Benedictine monastery in Croatia. During the reign of the first Croatian king, Tomislav, Klis and Biograd na Moru were his chief residences.

In March 1242 at Klis Fortress, Tatars who were a constituent segment of the Mongol army under the leadership of Kadan suffered a major defeat while in pursuit of the Hungarian army led by King Béla IV. After their defeat by Croatian forces, the Mongols retreated, and Béla IV rewarded many Croatian towns and nobles with 'substantial riches'. During the Late Middle Ages, the fortress was governed by Croatian nobility, amongst whom Paul I Šubić of Bribir was the most significant. During his reign, the House of Šubić controlled most of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia. Excluding the brief possession by the forces of Bosnian King, Tvrtko I, the fortress remained in Hungaro-Croatian hands for the next several hundred years, until the 16th century.

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