Remember the Vasa!

One of the highlights of our trip to Stockholm was going to the Vasa Museum to see the wreck of King Carl Gustav’s warship.

The ship sank on her maiden voyage — hadn’t even gotten out of the harbor — in 1628.   She was found and brought up in 1963, in amazingly good condition.  The sulfur content of the harbor water ended up decreasing the amount of oxygen in the water, and prevented degradation.

Museum technology has changed a lot since I was a kid.  There is no one path for folks to follow.  And the audio files that tell you about different sections of the exhibits are now downloadable in your language of choice.  And unlike most museums, this one allows flash photography.

Analysis of the wreckage, as well as contemporary tales of the ship, made it clear that she was not only top-heavy (and did not have enough ballast), but all of the gun ports were open, so she capsized from water pouring in when she tipped.