Attraction: Vasamuseet (Royal Warship Vasa)

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Address:
Djurgården
Galärvarvsvägen 14
Stockholm
Sweden

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Expert Review of Vasamuseet (Royal Warship Vasa)

Family Review of Vasamuseet (Royal Warship Vasa)

By Away Travel Expert: Candyce H. Stapen

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Family Expert Rating

Recommended for:
Children aged 3 - 5 , 6 - 12 and 13 - 17

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Walk through a replica of the gun deck to see how crew lived.
The museum is built around the ship and houses coins, tools, and various items reclaimed from the sea.

Visitor Information

Description:

This 17th-century man-of-war is the most frequently visited attraction in Scandinavia—and for good reason. Housed near the main entrance to Skansen within a cement-sided museum that was specifically constructed for its display, the Vasa is the world's oldest complete and identified ship.

On its maiden voyage in 1628, in front of thousands of onlookers, the Royal Warship Vasa capsized and sank almost instantly to the bottom of Stockholm harbor. Its salvage in 1961 was an engineering and archaeological triumph. Onboard were more than 4,000 coins, carpenters' tools, sailors' pants (in a color known as Lübeck gray), fish bones, and other items of archaeological interest. Best of all, 97% of the ship's 700 original decorative sculptures were found. Carefully restored and impregnated with preservatives, they are now back onboard the stunning ship, whose exterior is ornamented with dozens of baroque carvings. They include grotesque replicas of human faces, lion masks, fish-shape bodies, and other carvings, some with traces of their original paint and gilt.

A full-scale model of half of the Vasa's upper gun deck has been built, together with the admiral's cabin and the steering compartment. Several carved wooden figures represent the crew. By walking through the "gun deck" and the exhibit of original objects (including the appall ingly primitive medical equipment, preserved clothes, and a backgammon board), you can get an idea of life aboard the ship. Captioned exhibits describe the almost unimaginable hardships of life at sea for the ordinary soldier and sailor. If you're like us, you'll be struck by the drama behind the ship's creation: Designed to terrify Sweden's enemies across the sea, the ship's fatal design flaws were directly commissioned by the king. Its sinking was a great blow to national prestige, but its successful recovery from the muddy bottom became a symbol of restored national pride.

Free tours are conducted at widely varying schedules depending on the season. During the most visited months, June to August, tours in English are conducted every half-hour from 9:30am to 5:30pm.

Contact Frommers

Telephone Number: 08/519-548-00

Website: http://www.vasamuseet.se

Transportation: Bus: 47 or 69. Ferry from Slussen year-round, from Nybroplan in summer only

Price Information: Admission 80SEK ($11/£6) adults

Hours: Sept-May Thurs-Tues 10am-5pm; June-Aug Thurs-Tues 8:30am-6pm, Wed 10am-8pm

Dates Closed: Closed Jan 1, May 1, Dec 23-25, and Dec 31

The details, dates, and prices mentioned here were accurate at the time of publication.