Travel Photo 329606

Jul 29, 2025 11:40am

We went to the Vasa Museum. Pictured is an original cannon from the ship’s two gun decks. The Vasa was a war ship commissioned by the Swedish Royalty during a time when Sweden was at war with Poland. It was the first ship built by Sweden with two gun decks hence making it very tall. The design of the ship wasn’t wide enough to compensate for the increased height so it therefore was top heavy and unstable. It sank in the Stockholm Harbor August 10, 1628 within 15 minutes of its maiden voyage. It remained at the bottom of the harbor until the 1960s when it was found and slowly hoisted to the surface. It was painstakingly preserved and now resides in its own museum so that we can all see its grandeur. Interestingly a double gun deck sister ship Applet was commissioned and sailed for many years after the Vasa sank. It was several meters wider than the Vasa.