REGALSKEPPET VASA

Regalskeppet Vasa means "Ship of Her Majesty Vasa" (Vasa was the name of the house that ruled Sweden at the time).

The construction works of the Vasa ship began in 1626, about two years later, on 10 August 1628, there was the inauguration of the ship and with it also the end of her because she sank on the same day. 40 out of 130 people died.

THE CAUSES

The carpenter who was in charge of building the ship fell ill and died, leaving the responsibility to his family and inexperienced workers. Worsening the situation was the pressure of the king, at work, who could not wait to find his finished project. In addition, the ship was too long in relation to the width, which made it difficult to maintain good buoyancy.

THE FINDING

The ship was found practically intact (1961), after 333 years, thanks both to the temperature of the water in the lagoon devoid of the "ship worm" that feeds on wood and to the quality of the oak wood, suitable for persisting in contact with the 'water.

Today the specimen is in the Stockholm museum.