During the 17th century, Sweden went from being a sparsely populated, poor, and peripheral northern European kingdom of little influence to one … See more

Sinking
On 10 August 1628, Captain Söfring Hansson ordered Vasa to depart on her maiden voyage to the naval station at Älvsnabben. … See more

Vasa posed an unprecedented challenge for archaeologists. Never before had a four-storey structure, with most of its original contents largely undisturbed, been available for excavation. The conditions under which the team had to work added to the difficulties. … See more

Although Vasa was in surprisingly good condition after 333 years at the bottom of the sea, she would have quickly deteriorated if the … See more

Just before Vasa was ordered, Dutch-born Henrik Hybertsson ("Master Henrik") was shipwright at the Stockholm shipyard. On 16 January 1625, … See more

Less than three days after the disaster, a contract was signed for the ship to be raised. However, those efforts were unsuccessful. The … See more

Vasa sank because she had very little initial stability—resistance to heeling under the force of wind or waves acting on the hull. This was due to the distribution of mass in the hull structure, and to the ballast, guns, provisions, and other objects loaded on board … See more