Vasa Museum, Stockholm, Sweden

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

Jordan Dimov (4 years ago)
One of the most unique museums I have visited anywhere in the world. Small, but built around an impressive story and a truly awe-inspiring centerpiece. One can spend a long time here. Great for children too.

Keith J Held (4 years ago)
The best value for your dollar. Every well done. The displays are great. The museum goes out of it's way to give you a great experience. The ship is incredibly well preserved. This is a must see if you are touring Stockholm. Get there early as you can spend a good chunk of your day going through the museum if you would like. The restaurant is also a great break from the tour. The food is great!

Jonathan Faucoeur (4 years ago)
Nice Museum. It's great to be able to see the real boat and not a reproduction. The audio guide is really great :D ! It gives life to the visit. It's only my opinion but I think it was kinda expensive. (17€ / adult ) You can see the whole gallery in 1 hour. ?? Nice but enough for me at this price.

Mary Mahoney (4 years ago)
Amazing that the Vasa was restored. Amazing to see it. The short introductory movie was great. After that???? I was done. Thankful I didn’t wait on a long line to enter. But, obviously, according to the opinions other reviewers, I’m in the minority. If you only have a short amount of time on Stockholm, I’d pass if the queue is long.

Lukáš Šaněk (4 years ago)
Fascinating experience! The quality of this museum is just awesome. Loads and loads of information, many pics, live action videos and much more. You CANNOT miss this while in Stockholm. The bistro was a rather average though. Don't forget to use the lockers otherwise.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

Vasa Museum

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus