The Vasa museum is a story in itself. In the 1620s, a warship was commissioned by King Gustavus Adolphus, and an amazing 2% of the GDP was spent to produce it. It had two separate decks for cannons, ornate carvings all around it, and it stood an impressive 52.5 meters high. Despite the truly magnificent look of the ship, the issue was that it was Sweden’s first time building this dual-cannon-deck model, and perhaps the weighting and measurements were a bit imprecise.
When it finally set sail in 1628, it went with its cannon doors open, so it could fire the traditional ceremonial salute. A gust of wind answered, and tipped the ship a bit, only, unlike normal ships, which seem to bounce right back up thanks to the heavy ballast in the hull, the Vasa did not “pop” right back up. In fact, it tipped ever so much over, that water began to pour in through the open cannon hatches. Desperately, the crew onboard (a understocked crew at that, due to the ceremonial nature of the journey) tried to quickly pull the cannons in and shut the doors, but weighing over 1.5 Tons each, was a hopeless battle. And just like that, the Vasa sank a mere 120 meters from shore. The area there was only 32 meters deep, a stroke of luck in this sad tale, as it enabled some who could not swim to cling onto the masts while help came. All in all, around 30 people lost their lives.
The ship would stay there for almost 330 years, plunged deep into the mud. The cold and saltless water, the lack of use from wear, combined with the oxygen free environment of the mud, helped preserve the ship to a remarkable quality when it was finally hauled out in the 1950s. They pulled it in as far as they could, and then quite literally built the museum around the ship and pumped the water out. About 40,000 pieces were found in and around the ship, giving a true look into life during that time.