HMS VASA Photo Copyright (C) Hans Hammarskiöld, Vasa Museum Stockholm, Sweden
Class: Sailing Vessel
Length: 158 foot at the waterline, 201 feet to perpendiculars, 228 including bowsprit.
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Around 4:00 PM on 10 August 1628, the warship Vasa set sail in Stockholm harbor on its maiden voyage as the newest ship in the Royal Swedish Navy. After sailing about 1300 meters a light gust of wind caused the Vasa to capsize. In 1664 the majority of Vasa's cannon were salvaged using a diving bell. She remained hidden and covered by protective mud until she was found in 1956. Starting in 1961, some 14,000 individual pieces of wood were brought up to the surface when the Vasa was salvaged - everything from fantastic wooden sculptures to anonymous planks of wood. When the work of stabilizing the wood was thought completed in 1979, work began on piecing the ship back together. In 1990 a state of the art indoor museum was created specially for Vasa. Starting in the 1990's her rigging was replaced. Carpenters reconstructed the upper deck in 1998-1999. Today, Vasa is the only 17th century ship in the world and one of most ambitious restoration and preservation projects ever attempted.
 Photo Copyright (C) Hans Hammarskiöld, Vasa Museum Stockholm, Sweden Return to the HNSA Home Page.
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