Story & photos by Mary Eloise H.

Leake

THE VASA

Resurrection

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Stockholm, Swedens capital, is

built on 14 islands and sports 57
bridges. As you walk over one of
them to Djurgarden Island, you
spot the Vasa Museum, a cavernous
contemporary structure topped by
three sails.
Inside you find the Vasa, the only
conserved 17th century ship in
the world, which spent more than
three centuries under water. Hewn
from more than 1,000 oaks, the
vessel is surprisingly 95 per cent
bona fide.
Entering the dimly lit museum, you are stunned by
the Vasas size, built to carry 445 soldiers and crew.
Think Pirates of the Caribbean on steroids.
The heralded warship, ordered by Swedens King
Gustav II Adolf, was constructed and ornamented
to be his fleets flagship. But in 1628 after traveling
less than a mile on its maiden voyage, it sank to the
bottom of Stockholms harbor.
What caused the Vasas dramatic swan song?
First a bit of early 17th century history. Swedens king and his cousin, King Sigismund III of
Poland-Lithuania (a former Swedish king), were in
a dynastic as well as a Baltic Sea trade war. Consequently the Swedish king ordered a new type of ship
with twice as many (64) - and heavier guns.
The master shipwright at the navy yard had never
built a vessel of this type before and miscalculated
the distribution of weight, says Dr. Fred Hocker, the
director of research at the Vasa Museum.

Like Dolly Parton, the ship was top-heavy.

The Vasa was also asymmetrical. Four rulers were
found onboard, but they had different calibrations.
The two Swedish rulers measured a foot as 12 inches,
but the Dutch rulers only had 11 inches. Obviously a
multitude of problems resulted from this discrepancy.
But they didnt show up until about a month before
the vessel sailed, Hocker says.
The only ship stability test at the time strikes
todays viewers as funny, but it was very efficient: 30
men sprinted from one side of the deck to the other
several times. The Vasa pitched so badly that they
cancelled the test. Since no one had the guts to tell
the ambitious king, the ship was sent on.
Excitement filled the harbor area on August 10,
1628, as everyone gathered to watch the Vasas
launch. With no soldiers on the journeys initial
segment, some of the crew had invited family
members to join them. Out of the estimated 150
people onboard when the Vasa sank, about 30 died,
but only 16 skeletons were found. The museum,
using todays CSI technology, fleshed out the faces
of several males and a female, now seen in the Face
to Face section.
After the tragedy, how does good luck prevail?
The Vasas resting place provided an almost perfect
cocoon. In the cold water, the Vasa lay on the harbors
dark floor at a depth of about 105 feet. The polluted
brackish water kept shipworms (wood-eating
clams) at bay. In this environment, preservation was
extraordinary. Even six of the 10 sails survive.
About 226 feet long, 38 feet wide and 172 feet high,
the formidable wreck was lost over time. Found in
1959, the world watched it rise - with much fanfare
- from the harbor waters on April 24, 1961, 333 years
after its demise.
Conservation of the national treasure began in ear-

The Vasas resting place provided an almost perfect

cocoon. In the cold water, the Vasa lay on the harbors
dark floor at a depth of about 105 feet.
Left: A view of the ornately carved Vasa. The many tiered viewing/informative
platforms in the background give one a sense of the museums vast scale.

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Above: All the wood in the Vasa has been conserved and is
95% original even though the wreck was submerged in the
Stockholm harbor for 333 years!

Inset: These are copies of some of the ships 700 carvings,

displayed as they were originally painted, based on the very
small pigments found.

nest in 1962. Water in the Vasas wood was slowly replaced

with a synthetic waxy additive used in cosmetics, followed
by air-drying. These processes required several decades.
Now, due to signs of further deterioration, new conservation
techniques are being explored, Hocker says.
Opened in 1990, the Vasa Museum also appeals to art
aficionados. Some of the 700 ornate carvings enhancing the
vessel were copied to exhibit in their original vibrant hues.
A one-tenth scale model - with its sails unfurled - reveals her
authentic kaleidoscope of colors.
On the many viewing levels, spectators learn about the era
and the multiple elements which make this ship unique. Millions of people visit the museum each year because, unlike
the Titanic and other museums related to formerly seaworthy
vessels, the complete Vasa floats inside.

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Thus much like the mythological phoenix with its colorful

plumage rising from its ashes, the Vasa, risen from its watery
grave, has been reborn and lives again.
The ship and its museum even impressed well-known
European travel guru, Rick Steves, who has seen his share of
ancient ruins.
The Vasa Museum is my favorite maritime museum
anywhere!
Mary Eloise H. Leake, prolific in her travels and lively in her
reporting, has contributed dozens of accounts of museum
visits, city sites, and explorations for readers to envy, and
perhaps even undertake. She and her husband claim to live in
Anniston, but they crave the site of ziplines and Old Master
paintings and so can be found anywhere these things exist.