The war ship Vasa was built in 1626-1628. The king, Gustav II Adolf, had ordered five ships to be built that would be the largest and most powerful ships of their time. They would be symbols of the military and political strength Sweden had.
But something went wrong with the construction of Vasa. She was too instable to be able to sail in rougher winds and she was wrecked on her maiden voyage. The ship had not more than left the harbour when a gust of wind filled the sails and the ship was forced to the baboard side. The wind passed and the ship sailed straight again but it was not long until a new gust of wind filled the sails and the ship went so far down on its side that it started taking in water through the portholes. Vasa capsized and sank at a depth of 32 meters, 120 meters from the shore.
Attempts to salvage the ship were made in the 1600's but all fail and the ship was forgotten. Its exact location was determined in 1956 and in 1961 the ship was salvaged. Since 1990 it has its own museum in Stockholm and is really worth a visit.
For more information in English: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship)
Picture: Vasa's stern
Under CC BY-SA 2.0 license
Souce: http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regalskeppet_Vasa
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