In the early 17th century, Sweden was a rising European power. After successful wars, it dominated the Baltic, controlling key resources and trade. Its army, reformed by King Gustavus Adolphus, was the most modern in the world, professional, flexible, and built around mobile artillery.
What Sweden lacked was a strong navy.
Ships of the time were designed for boarding, but Gustavus Adolphus saw the future: artillery at sea. In 1626, he ordered a new class of larger, heavily armed warships. Dutch shipbuilder Henrik Hybertsson was contracted, expecting to build two medium ships, while the king wanted two large ones. They compromised on one.
The result was the Vasa. Built from around 1,000 oak trees, the ship was massive, 69 meters long with two full gun decks, something Hybertsson warned would make it dangerously top-heavy. The king pushed forward anyway. The ship carried 64 bronze cannons, capable of firing one of the heaviest broadsides of its time, and was lavishly decorated with hundreds of brightly painted sculptures meant to glorify Sweden’s power.
On August 10, 1628, the Vasa set sail on her maiden voyage in Stockholm. In calm weather, with crowds watching, she moved out proudly and fired a salute.
Then a gust of wind hit. She heeled, recovered, then a second gust pushed her too far. Water poured through the open gunports. Within minutes, the ship began to sink.
Less than an hour into her first voyage, the Vasa went down just 120 meters from shore, in full view of thousands. Most of the 445 aboard survived, but around 30 men died.
An investigation followed. Everyone involved claimed they had followed orders. With blame pointing toward the king, the official conclusion was that “only God knows” why the ship sank, while responsibility was conveniently assigned to the already-dead Hybertsson.
The Vasa lay at the bottom of Stockholm harbor for over 300 years before being raised in 1961. Today, it’s one of the best-preserved 17th-century ships in the world, housed in the Vasa Museum.
If you’re interested, I cover the full story here: https://open.substack.com/pub/aid2000/p/hare-brained-history-vol-84-the-vasa?r=4mmzre&utm\_medium=ios
by aid2000iscool
2 Comments
One of the coolest museums I’ve ever been to.
Thanks for the story!
I still remember being around 5 years old and looking up and seeing Vasa. I will never forget it, i was absolutelt mesmerized. I then became obsessed with it, my mom bought me so many things from the gift shop.
My bedtime story for a long time was the ship’s story.