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Vasa Museum building, photo by Hanay.

Top10 Fascinating Facts about Vasa Museum

The Vasa Museum which in Swedish is known as the Vasamuseet is a maritime museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Its current location is on the island of Djurgarden. The museum displays the only almost fully intact 17th-century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship Vasa. 

The construction of the Vasa seemed to be unstable and as noticed after it sank while in voyage. Several attempts were made to recover the ship but no avail until in 1961 when it was discovered by Anders Franzén who was an independent contractor.

It was salvaged and temporarily stored in a museum before being transferred permanently to the museum it currently sits in. The official opening of the Museum is believed to be in 1990. The museum together with other museums, belong to the Swedish National Maritime Museum (SNMM). Here are top10 Fascinating Facts about Vasa Museum.

1.Vasa museum was temporary housed in the Wasavaret

Het Vasamuseum in Stockholm. photo by Steven Lek.

Between the years 1961 and 1983, the Vasa Museum was temporarily housed in the Wasavarvet. During this period visitors could only view it from the ship. The maximum distance was only 5m (17 feet).

Due to the setbacks that were being experienced, the Swedish Government in the year 1981 decided that there should be a construction of the Vasa permanently there should be a construction of a permanent Vasa.

2.The permanent construction phase of the Vasa

Marianne Jakobbäck and Göran Månsson were winners of the construction tender. The construction of the Vasa began on and around the dry dock of the old naval yard. Even before the actual completion of construction, a total of 228,000 people had visited the construction site.

The numbers received even before the actual completion of the construction encouraged the completion process. The museum was officially opened on the 15^th of June 1990 and has been visited by over 25 million people. In the year 2017, the Vasa received over 1 million visitors.

3.The magnificent interior design of the Vasa museum

Interior of Vasa Museum, photo by Dmitry G.

The museum has a main hall that displays the Vasa Warship itself and various exhibits that are closely related to it. The Vasa warship which is the entre piece of the museum has been fitted with new masts and a new bowsprit and had its damaged and missing parts replaced.

The exterior of the building is covered in painted wooden panels while the interior has large sections of bare, unpainted concrete. Around the ship are numerous exhibits and models portraying the construction, location, sinking and recovery. This affords the tourists an actual feel of the events and gives them some background information on the vessel.

4.The 50^th anniversary of the Vasa

The museum is planning that for the celebration of the 50 years of its existence, it will be publishing an 8- volume archeological report. The museum has made efforts to publish archeological report at least every year in celebration of the site. Back in 2006, the Vasa I: the Archaeology of the Swedish Warship of 1628.

The report was made after the Swedish warship sank roughly 1300 m into her voyage. It was only up to the 17 century that bronze cannon were salvaged from the wreckage. The recovery of the Vasa has now become a widely recognized symbol in Sweden.

5.Other than the Vasa, the museum holds other four museum ships

Vasa Museum, photo by Dmitry G.

Other than the Vasa warship that sank in voyage, the museum holds other four museum ships, the light vessel, the torpedo boat, the rescue boat and the ice breaker. The display of the ship alongside the vasa has created an historical site that attracts tourists from all over. The museum is regarded as an exclusive attraction site in Sweden.

6.The sinking of the Vasa warship

It is believed that after the completion of the building of the Vasa, it was believed it be dangerously unstable. The structure of the ship had not been carefully made as it had too much weight in the upper structure. This caused the ship to be unstable, and was only found minutes later after encountering strong wings while in voyage.

A discovery was made by the Swedish Privy council to punish whoever was culpable, but to no avail. Efforts were thereafter made for its recovery. During one of the recovery process in 1961, the remains of at least 15 people and thousands of artifacts were recovered. 

7.The rescuing and discovery of the Vasa warship

The Vasa from the Bow, photo by JavierKohen.

There had been several attempts to salvage the sunken war ship but no avail. It was until 1956 that the ship was discovered by an independent researcher named Anders Franzén.  It was rescued five years later after careful studies.  Restoration projects were wade to preserve it.

The Warship was later temporarily housed in a museum building for the government opted for a permanent fit the ship. Even in its temporary residence, it attracted tourists from all over the world to learn its history. In its current museum, it dominates the entire central region of the main floor where it sits.

8.Exhibitions displayed in the Vasa warship

Stockholm,Sweden in 2017, photo by Chinmayee Mishra.

The warship in the museum has several displays of exhibitions that demonstrate how life in the vessel was. These displays in the vessel are objects recovered from the first voyage after it was recovered after sinking. The first floor holds exhibitions illustrating what wars at the sea entailed in the 17^th century.

Other exhibition the vessel show immense details on the adornments and decorations with their respective meaning. This gives the visitors a feel of the events as the vessel was sailing and navigating during the 17^th century. The remains hold rich culture and history for the Sweden.

9.Unique films made around the ship

Several films have been made to document on the existence of the ship. The films have also been translated into different dialects. The Era which was directed by Anders Wahlgren documents the story of the people who built the warship that is currently sitting in the museum.

The film on the Vasa is shown in the auditorium on the 1^st and 2^nd floor. It offers its viewers a unique feel of the actual train of events before starting of their visit at the Vasa museum. The film is displayed in the two auditoriums and is played in alternating languages due to the diverse nature of the visitors to the place.

10.Other than the historical value it provides, the Vasa also has a restaurant

The restaurant in the museum is located on the first floor and offers a beautiful view of the outside. The restaurant offers the tourist a variety of options to choose from. The museum not only offers customers to offer them an opportunity to lean on the historic site but also to have a taste of some of their delicacies.

Indeed, the Vasa museum holds great history for the Swedish people. The museum gives its tourist the actual train of events as the Vasa Warship as being constructed, discovered and recovered.