Artesania Wasa

HISTORY OF THE SWEDISH VESSEL VASA: A POWERFUL SHIP MODEL

The ship called Vasa is part of the Swedish, European and world naval history positively and negatively. This warship of 64 bronze cannons was launched in 1628 (17th century), once its construction was finished with more than a thousand cut oaks, ordered by King Gustavo II to fight in the Thirty Years' War.

The anecdote of the Vasa is that it sank to the kilometer of sailing in the Stockholm’s port, being the flagship of the Swedish empire.

It was the most powerful ship of the time in terms of power, not exceeded until a century and a half later by the USS Constitution, one of the first American frigates. The Vasa ship sailed with 1,200 tons of weight and its sail area was 1,150 m2 (80 tons).

One of the strongest points of this sailboat is its great level of detail, especially reflected in the many sculptures at the stern of the ship, divided into five parts: the lions with the shield, the human faces with emotions, the group of the king , the angels and the servants, and the mermaids or sea creatures. He had 700 more sculptures than he currently has, representing with striking colors heroes of the Bible, Roman emperors and Greek gods.

Vasa ship was rescued, after three hundred years in the depths, in 1961, and it was turned into a museum ship, being able to be visited since then in the island of Djurgarden of Stockholm (Sweden).