Vasa Museum, Stockholm: Is It Worth A Visit?

How good can museum showcasing an old ship be? That was my initial reaction to the Vasa museum in Stockholm. But after reading positive reviews raving about the museum, it was one of my must-see attractions during our visit to Stockholm as part of our 10-day road trip in Scandinavia.

It was clearly on a lot of other people’s lists too judging by the length of the queue which greeted us at 10am on a Saturday morning in late August. It is, after all, one of Stockholm’s most visited sights. But why?

Inside the Vasa Museum, a 17th century battle ship majestically stands – the world’s only preserved ship from that century – which dramatically sank a few metres out to sea on its maiden voyage.

I imagined the Vasa Museum was going to be good but I didn’t expect it to be as good as it was. As we entered the room my eyes widened and I gawped in amazement at the towering wooden structure.

The sheer size of the vessel is awe-inspiring and unlike anything I have seen before. It’s no often we come face to face with a 17th century warship. No doubt that is where much of the fascination about this museum lies.

Despite its majesty, the wooden structure is now a shadow of its former self in terms of grandeur. When it sailed out to sea, it would have been beautifully decorated in red and gold with lion sculptures adorning the sides as well as 64 bronze canons pointing outwards and room for 150 sailors and 300 soldiers. There is a model of the Vasa which helps give an idea of what it might have looked like.

The intricacies of the sculptures on the ship are still very evident.

But the Vasa was flawed. On 10th August 1628, within 20 minutes of setting sail it sank (the same amount of time it took us to get into the museum). It was only 1500m into its journey to fight in the 30-year war against Poland-Lithuania. It fell to the depths of the Baltic sea killing 40 of the 130 people on board and it took 333 years for it to be salvaged. But how could something like this happen?

To give you a bit of background, Vasa was commissioned by ‘the Lion of the North’ King Gustavus Adolfus II in 1625 as a show of might against his catholic enemies. When complete it would be one of the most powerfully armed vessels in the world.

The Swedish King employed a Dutch shipwright, Henrik Hybertsson, to build the 69m-long Vasa alongside a young merchant Arendt de Groote. But in 1627, at the age of 65, Henrik died, leaving his Swedish wife Margareta in charge of completing the Vasa.

The building of the ship ran into financial difficulties but three years later it was finally finished. To great fanfare, on its inauguration day in 1628, with the inhabitants of Stockholm watching, the unthinkable to happened. The reason behind the sinking? An inquest found it was down to bad design. The bilge was too narrow and there were not enough tonnes of stones on board to balance it out. The problem was, Hybertsson’s design was approved by the king himself. In the end, the inquest did not punish anyone for the disaster.

When the ship was pulled out of the sea in 1961, the museum was built around it. The Vasa can be viewed from three different floors offering different perspectives with lifts for those with prams and wheelchairs.

I wasn’t the only one impressed with the Vasa Museum, my husband (who isn’t big on museums) was amazed by it and my four-year-old daughter (who can be tough to please) was fascinated with the warship. She was just a bit confused as to why we weren’t going on it!

There were plenty of questions from her as we viewed the ship. What the rigging was, who would climb up there, what would go in the cannon holes? I attempted to explain parts to her (quickly realising my shipping knowledge is not up to scratch) in language she could understand. Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Peter Pan were mentioned a lot. It may have been wise to go on one of the regular, free 25-minute guided tour in english.

Around the ship there are lots of exhibits giving a bit of context on how the ship was built, what life was like on board ships in the 17th century, the disease and illnesses and what they would eat. There are also models of ships depicting life at sea. Mrs T seemed intrigued with the men looking gravely ill, wondering whether they were going to die…something else I was left to explain.

Aside from tricky questions, it was fantastic to see her interest in history and the museum as a whole. She is at an age now where she is starting to properly learn from museums and it is incredibly satisfying to see her thirst for knowledge.

The Vasa Museum was far better than I could have imagined and looking back at the photos realise they really do not do it justice. You must go to the Vasa Museum when in Stockholm and see it with your own eyes.

Getting there

The Vasa Museum is located on Djurgården island. We got the hop-on, hop-off bus which was included in our Stockholm City Passes. The bus dropped us outside the museum. By tram you can get the number 7 from the city centre, Hamngatan/ Kungsträdgården towards Waldemarsudde. You could also get the number 67 bus, red line metro to Karlaplanor it is a 30 minute walk from central station.

Cost
Entry to the Vasa Musuem is free with the Stockholm City Pass. Otherwise adults pay 130 SEK, students 100 SEK and under 18s go free. We spent around an hour at the museum. It is worth tying it in with some of the other nearby museums on the island.

Is the Vasa Museum Family-Friendly?

Most children will really enjoy the Vasa Museum. It is a fascinating part of history to learn about and an incredible sight to see. The exhibits are interesting and give a flavour about what life would have been like on the Vasa (if it had survived). For younger children there is pushchair access and a baby change. There is a family trail (ask at reception) and a film suitable for three years old and upwards, Vasa Piglet, shown daily in english on the third floor at 10am, noon, 2pm, 4pm. For more information, click here.

Vasa Museum opening hours
1 June – 31 August: Daily 8.30-18
1 September – 31 May: Daily 10-17 (Wednesdays 10-20)
New Years Eve open 10-15
The museum is closed: 1 January and 23-25 December
Museum website

Have you been to the Vasa Museum before. Or Stockholm? Do you have a must-see museum which you recommend going to?