Vasa (ship)

Vasa's port side bow
Career
Ordered:	1625
Laid down:	1626
Launched:	late Spring 1627
Fate:	Sank on her maiden voyage on August 10, 1628. Salvaged in 1961. Museum ship
General Characteristics
Displacement:	1210 metric tons
Total Length:	69 m (226.3 ft)
Beam:	11.7 m (38.4 ft)
Draft:	4.8 m (15.7 ft)
Height, keel to mast:	52.5 m (172.2 ft)
Weight:	1,200 t (2,650,000 lb)
Propulsion:	10 Sails, 3 Masts
Sail area:	1,275 m2
Armament:	64 guns
Sailors:	145
Soldiers:	300

Vasa (also Wasa) is a Swedish 64-gun galleon, built for Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden 1626-1628. She capsized after sailing only a mile into her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. After years of searching and preparation from 1956, Vasa was salvaged with a largely intact hull on 24 April 1961. She was housed in a temporary museum until 1987, and was later moved to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm which officially opened in 1990. Vasa is currently one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions.

Thousands of artefacts and the remains of 25 people were found inside or near Vasa by marine archaeologists. Among the many items found were clothing, weapons, cannons, tools, coins, cutlery, food, drink and six of the ten sails. The artefacts and the ship itself have provided historians with invaluable insight into details on everyday life, naval warfare and shipbuilding techniques in the early 17th century. When she was built, Vasa was intended to express the expansionist aspirations of Sweden and its king, Gustavus Adolphus, and no expense was spared in decorating and equipping her. She was one of the largest and most heavily armed warships of her time and was adorned with hundreds of sculptures, concentrated mainly to her bown and stern, all of them painted in vivid colors.

The exact reasons for the capsizing are still debated, but it is clear Vasa was too top-heavy and therefore unstable. The ship was fitted with an extra battery deck (cannon deck) without consideration for the sailing characteristics and enlarged per measurements ordained by the king. Despite clearly failing a stability in port she was allowed to set sail, mainly due to the impatience of Gustavus Adolphus to see her join the Baltic fleet in the Thirty Years' War. An inquiry was held after the disaster and the captain was arrested, but no sentences were handed out as the king himself, who was considered infallible, had approved all measurements.

Construction

View of Vasa from the stern. The back of the stern castle served as an architectural and symbolic facade for the ship and had the largest concentration of sculptures on the ship. At the very top is king Gustavus Adolphus being crowned by two griffins. Below him are two lions grasping the Coat of arms of Sweden on either side.

1621 to 1625 the work at the Stockholm shipyard was led by Antonius Monier, with Dutch-born Henrik Hybertsson as hired shipbuilder. On 16 January 1625, Henrik and his brother Arendt Hybertsson de Groote took over the shipyard and soon signed a contract to build four ships, two larger of around 135 feet (41 m) and two smaller of 108 feet (33 m).

After a few years, the shipyard ran into economic problems, delaying the construction of the contracted ships. At the same time, the Swedish navy lost ten ships in a single storm and the king worriedly sent a letter to admiral Clas Fleming, asking him to make sure that Henrik hurried the construction of the two smaller ships. Along with the letter were measurements for the ship the king intended, with a 120 foot (36.5 m) keel. That gave Henrik Hybertsson new problems, because the measurements given by the king were between the planned larger and smaller vessels and the timber had already been cut. In a new letter, on 22 February 1626, the king yet again demanded his measurements for the new ship be followed. In the end, it seems likely that Henrik extended one of his designs for a smaller 108-foot ship by adding another section to it, creating the 135-foot ship that would become Vasa.

Henrik Hybertssson never had the chance to see the Vasa completed; he had become ill in late 1625 and, after one year of the construction, died in the spring of 1627. The supervision for the shipbuilding was given to Henrik's assistant, Hein Jaconsson, another Dutch immigrant. In practice, while Henrik was ill, the responsibility was shared between him and his assistant Hein, leading to confusion and uncertain leadership.

While the ship was being equipped, admiral Fleming ordered that the stability of Vasa be tested. The standard stability test of the day was thirty sailors running from side to side, assessing the tendency of the boat to rock. When this was attempted on Vasa, the ship started tilting significantly after only three runs and the test was aborted. Fleming allegedly said "had they run any more times, she would have keeled over". Surprisingly enough, neither Hein Jacobsson nor Johan Isbrandsson, the two ship builders in charge at the time, were present for the stability test. Boatswain Matsson, is said to have uttered "God hope it will stay on its keel" in response to the test.

Shortly after the disaster, Henrik's brother and co-owner Arendt Hybertsson left Sweden and returned to Holland.

Ornamentation

Reproductions of some of the sculptures that adorned Vasa on display at the Vasa Museum. The scultpures are painted in what are believed to be the original colors. The two cherubs in the center are holding the coat of arms of the House of Vasa, a sheaf (vasen), the namesake of the ship. Around them are various sculptures from different parts of the ship, many of which are inspired by history and myth from Roman antiquity. To the right of the coat of arms is king David, dressed in a Roman uniform playing a harp and symbolizing the wisdom of the king.

As was the custom with warships at the time, Vasa was decorated with sculptures that were intended to glorify the authority, wisdom and martial prowess of the monarch, and also to deride, taunt and frighten the enemy. The sculptures made up a considerable part of the effort and cost in building the ship and would even have added considerable weight, thereby hampering the maneuverability of the ship. Residue of paint have been found on many sculptures and many parts of the ship. All of the ornamentation was once painted in bright, gaudy colors and in some cases decorated with real gold leaf. The sculptures are carved out of oak, pine or linden and many of the larger pieces, like the huge, 3-meter, figurehead lion, consist of several parts which have been carved individually and then fitted together with bolts. The oak and pine pieces, both being tough types of wood, are the ones that are the most intact while many of the linden carvings, which are of a softer material, have sustained more damage and wear.

A team of at least six expert sculptors worked for a minimum of two years on the sculptures, most likely with the assistance of an unknown number of apprentices and assistants. No direct credit for any of the sculptures has been provided, but the distinct style of one of the most senior artists, Mårten Redtmer, are clearly identifiable. Other accomplished artists, like Hans Clausink and Johan Didrichson Tijsen (or Thessen in Swedish), are known to have been employed for extensive work at the naval yards at the time Vasa was built, but their respective styles are not distinct enough to associate them directly with any specific sculptures. The artistic quality of the sculptures varies considerably and four distinct styles can be identified. The only one that can be directly associated with any one individual is the work of Mårten Redtmer, whose style has been described as "pregnant, forceful and energetic, manneristic in the best sense of the word" and can be found in over 40% of the sculptures. Two of the other styles are described as "skilled and elegant [...] nervously lively", and "characteristically shaped and distinguished by weight and massiveness" respectively. The fourth and last style is deemed clearly inferior to the other three, "giving a stiff and unimaginative impression" and was probably done by an artist who possessed less skill and was of lower rank than the other artists, perhaps even various apprentices.

Vasa's port side. The new rigging, masts, and the lighter deck planking is clearly contrasted against the old, darkened oak of the hull.

There are over 700 sculptures on the ship, most of which are concentrated to the high stern and its galleries, and the bow. Almost 500 of the sculptures are figures of varying sizes and themes and the remaining 200 are other types of ornaments. The early Baroque symbolism used in decorating the ship was heavily inspired by the Renaissance idealization of Roman and Greek antiquity which had been imported from Italy, primarily by German and Dutch artists. The motifs are dominated by imagery borrowed from Mediterranean antiquity, but there are also figures from the Old Testament and even some from Ancient Egypt. Many of the figures are in the Dutch grotesque style depicting fantastic and frightening creatures, including mermaids, savages, sea monsters and tritons. The decoration inside the ship is much more sparse and is largely confined to the officer's quarters and the admiral's cabin, both located in the stern.

The figure of Hercules can be found as a pair of pendants on each side of the stern castle, one younger and one older, each representing opposite aspects of the ancient hero which was extremely popular during antiquity as well as in 17th century European art. On the stern are also depictions of king David and the warriors of Gideon, all dressed in Roman armor. A particularly popular motif is the lion, which can be found as the mascarons which were originally fitted on the inside of all the gunport doors, as grasping the royal coat of arms on either side, as the 3-meter-long figurehead, and even clinging to the top of the rudder. On each side of the bow there were originally 20 figures (though only 19 have actually been found) that represented Roman emperors from Tiberius to Septimius Severus. The imperial figures are placed in chronological order from the front on the starboard side and continuing from the back on the port side. Augustus, the most renowned of the emperors, is missing and it is assumed that this meant to convey the message that he was personified by king Gustavus Adolphus himself. Overall, almost all heroic and positive imagery is directly or indirectly identified with the king and was originally intended to glorify him as an absolute and flawless ruler. The only actual portrait of the king is located at the very top of the stern where he is depicted as a young boy with long, flowing hair, about to be crowned by two griffins who represent the king's father, Charles IX.

Maiden voyage

Central Stockholm and the movements of Vasa from the wharf where she was built (1) to the anchoring place near the old royal castle where she was fitted and armed (2), and finally the location where she capsized and sank (3).

On 10 August 1628, Captain Söfring Hansson ordered Vasa to set sail on her maiden voyage to the naval station at Älvsnabben. The day was calm, and the only wind was a light breeze from the southwest. The ship was towed along the waterfront to the southern side of the harbour, where three sails were set and the ship made way to the east. After less than 1000 meters, a gust of wind forced the ship onto her port side, after which water started flowing in through her open gun ports. Vasa sank to a depth of 32 meters, around 120 meters from the shore. Despite the short distance to the land, around 30 people were trapped in the ship and perished.

Inquest

When the king heard of Vasa's fate, he was incensed. 'Imprudence and negligence' must have been the cause, he wrote angrily in a letter, demanding in no uncertain terms that the guilty parties be punished. Captain Söfring Hansson who survived the disaster was immediately put in prison, awaiting trial. Under initial interrogation, he swore that the guns were properly secured and the crew were sober. A full inquest was organised by the Royal Council, and this took place before a court of admirals and councilors on September 5, 1628. Each of the surviving officers was questioned, as was the supervising shipwright and a number of expert witnesses.

As the inquest interrogated surviving crew members, it questioned the handling of the ship at the time of the disaster. Was she rigged properly for the wind? Was her cargo too heavy? In the end, the answers were deemed satisfactory and no incriminating evidence was found. Later, the focus was on the ship builders. Jacobson testified he had built the Vasa according to the instructions left to him by Henrik Hybertson and His Majesty. The King had approved all measurements and armaments, and the ship was built according to the instructions and loaded with the number of guns specified.

In the end, no guilty party could be found. 'Only God knows', was the answer de Groot gave when asked by the court why the ship sank. The person responsible for the design, Henrik Hybertsson, was long dead and buried. The ship was built according to the specifications laid out by the king and one couldn't very well punish the king. In the end, no one was punished or found guilty for negligence and the sinking was explained as an act of God. The sinking of the Vasa was also a major economic disaster; the cost of the ship was more than 200 000 dalers, which was about 5% of Sweden's GNP at the time.

Causes of sinking

A model showing the profile of Vasa's hull. In the bottom compartment the ballast, consisting of large, tightly packed stones, was stored. Vasa carried 120 tons of ballast, but this was not enough to counter the considerable weight above the water line; even a light squall would seriously destabilize the ship.

During this period, the design requirements and calculations for building a ship only existed in the head of the shipwright. Scientific theories on vessel design or stability had not yet been developed, so important factors like the ship's center of gravity had to be estimated from the builder's experience. Vasa was finished with two gundecks, at the king's request. Common practice of the time dictated that heavy guns were to be placed on the lower gundeck to decrease in weight on the upper battery deck. A last minute decision was made to equip the ship with heavy guns on both decks in order to make her the most powerful warship in the world. The upper row of gunports on Vasa are slightly smaller than the lower ones, which indicates that the original plan was to put lighter guns on the upper deck.

Warships of the period, even when properly armed, were highly unstable. A major reason for this was that they were built with high aftercastles which provided a platform for soldiers to fire upon the enemy with small arms. Another reason was that gundecks followed thick wale planks that curved upward dramatically at their ends and added to the top-heaviness. Later designs flattened the decks and made the ports cut through the wale planks. Later, wale planks were flattened and were not cut through at all. Vasa did not carry enough ballast to counter her weight above water. Upon salvaging, the ship was found to have an intact hold full of ballast stones. Even if Vasa had much more ballast she would have sat too low and would have taken water through open gunports on the lower deck even while floating upright.

Captain Söfring Hansson sailed the brand new ship with open gunports which was not common practice. Brand new ships were most commonly first sailed with closed gunports in order to give the captain and crew an idea of how the new ship would handle. Each and every ship ever built in the 17th century handled a little differently. Vasa was also supposed to head for Vaxholm in the outer archipelago to take on all of her stores and personnel which might have provided more stability.

Recovery

After her sinking, most of the ship's valuable bronze cannons were soon recovered with the use of a diving bell. Access to the cannons required removing the decking at several levels.

In 1956, Anders Franzén thought of the possibility of recovering wrecks from the Baltic waters, because he figured that these waters were free from the shipworm Teredo navalis. He started looking for Vasa and found her in an upright position at a depth of 32 meters. The wreck was lifted in a relatively straightforward way, by digging six tunnels under the hull through which steel cables were attached to a pair of lifting pontoons. The ship was lifted and brought to shallower water, where she was to be made watertight for the final lift. Her gun ports were closed by means of temporary lids and all the holes from the iron bolts, which had rusted away, were plugged. The final lift took place on 24 April 1961, after which she was put in a dry dock.

Conservation

Conservation of the ship itself was done using polyethylene glycol, a method that was also used years later in the conservation process of the 16th century English ship Mary Rose. Vasa was sprayed with this glycol for 17 years, followed by slow drying. Recent developments, however, have shown that this conservation method, in time, makes the wood brittle and fragile.

Over 26,000 artifacts have been found, including six original sails, still folded. After the lifting of the wreck, the wreck site was searched for artifacts and over 700 sculptures were found. These carvings were once attached to the ship, but the bolts had rusted away, causing the sculptures to fall to the bottom.

Museum

The Vasa Museum in Stockholm

Vasa is currently preserved at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm and is the most popular museum in Scandinavia. The main hall contains the ship itself and various exhibits related to the archaeological findings of the ships and early 17th century Sweden. Vasa has been been fitted with the lower sections of all three masts, a new bowsprit, a partial rigging, and has had certain parts that were missing or heavily damaged replaced. The replacement parts have not been treated or painted and are therefore clearly visible against the original material that has been darkened after three centuries under water. The museum also displays four other, floating, museum ships; the ice breaker Sankt Erik (1915), the lighthouse ship Finngrundet (1903), the minelayer Spica and the rescue ship Bernhard Ingelsson (1944).

The four floating museum ships of the Vasa Museum.

Until 1988 Vasa was housed in a temporary structure called Wasavarvet ("The Vasa Wharf") where she was treated with PEC. Visitors could only view the ship from two levels and the maximum distance was only 5 m (17 ft). The decision to build a permanent museum was taken by the Swedish government in 1981 and an architectural competition was held. 384 designs were submitted and the final winners were Marianne Dahlbäck and Göran Månsson with Ask ("box"). The construction of the new building began on and around the dry dock of the old naval yard in late 1987. Vasa was towed into the flooded dry dock under the new building in December 1988 and the museum was officially opened on June 15 1990. So far Vasa has been seen by over 20 million people.

The new museum is dominated by a large copper roof with stylized masts that represent the actual heigh of Vasa if she was to be fully rigged. Parts of the building are covered in wooden panels painted in dark red, blue, tar black, okra yellow and dark green. The interior is similarly decorated with large sections of bare, unpainted concrete, including the ceiling. Inside the museum the ship can be seen from six levels, from her keel to the top of the stern castle. Around the ship are numerous exhibitions and models portraying the construction, location and recovery of the ship. There are also many exhibits that expand on the history of Sweden in the 17th century, providing background information for why the ship was built.

The museum is constantly monitoring the ship for damage caused by decay or warping of the wood. There is ongoing research on how to best preserve the ship for future generation and to analyze the existing material as closely as possible. The museum is currently in the process of publishing an 8-volume archaeological report to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the salvage. Vasa I will be available at the end of 2006. Subsequent volumes will come out once a year.

Sources

• Borgenstam, Curt and Sandström, Anders (1984), Sjöstrid på Wasas tid: Wasastudier, nr 12
• National Maritime Museum of Sweden (2006), Vasa I: The Archaeology of a Swedish Royal Ship of 1628 ISBN 91-974659-0-9
• Sandström, Anders (1982) Sjöstrid på Wasas tid: Wasastudier, nr 9
• Dos Santos, Brian L. (2000) The Vasa Capsizes
• Soop, Hans (1978) Regalskeppet Wasa, skulpturer ISBN 91-38-03988-5
• Vasa Museum homepage
• Cederlund, Carl Olof, series editor Fred Hocker, Vasa I, The Archaeology of a Swedish Warship of 1628, National Maritime Museums of Sweden, Stockholm 2006 (in English), vol. 1 in an 8-volume archaeological report currently in production.

See also

• Maritime archeology
• Kronan
• Mary Rose
• Royal Swedish Navy

External links

• Vasa Museum
• Vasa's Revival
• Andy Carvin's Vasa Gallery
• High resolution photos of a Vasa model
• Harvard Business Review: The Fate of the Vasa
• Clayton's model ship page Features a scratch built model of the Swedish Warship Vasa

59°19′40″N 18°05′28″E