Wasa (Vasa) Miniature

During the Thirty Years’ War, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden commissioned the building of a large number of large ships of the line. One of these ships was the impressive Wasa, which was supposedly given the name “NY Wassan” during her construction. The total cost for the construction of this ship ran to around 100,000 Reichstalers. At the king’s behest, an additional gun deck was added in 1627 in order to house an even greater number of guns. This would later prove to be her undoing.

On 10 August 1628, the Wasa set sail on her maiden voyage. Shortly after the Wasa reached open water, a strong wind filled her sails. A few minutes later a sudden gust of wind forced the ship into an extreme lateral position. All attempts to right the Wasa failed. Water entered through the open gun ports, the bottom row of which was only 1.20 to 1.50 meters above water level. The Wasa finally sank in 32 meters depth of water off the island of Beckholmen.

That the Wasa still exists today is solely due to the fact that the ship worm (teredo navalis) is not able to survive in the cold waters of the Baltic Sea. The Wasa is the oldest still preserved and identified ship and lies in the Wasa dockyard in Stockholm, which is open to visitors.

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 Wasa (Vasa) Miniature