The Incredible Story of Sweden's Vasa Warship (4K)

Joshua Hanlon explains how the pride of Sweden's 17th century fleet sank less than an hour after it set sail.
Read a complete timeline of Vasa and her sinking: www.vasamuseet.se/en/vasa-his...
Music:
"Ave Marimba"
"Cold Sober"
"Tenebrous Brothers Carnival - Mermaid"
(all by incompetech.com/)

[@leesimpson1677]

I visited the museum in July last year while I was in Stockholm. I knew the story of the Vasa and had seen photographs, but nothing can prepare you for the actual size and state of preservation of the ship when you first walk in and see it with your own eyes. It is quite simply staggering. Since I retired 3 years ago I have spent much of my time travelling in my endeavour to see as much of the world as I can while I still have good health, and I would rate it as one of my best experiences. It is surely a not to be missed visit by anyone travelling around the Baltics.

[@tracys7057]

Sounds very much like when you see the Spruce Goose the first time! Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@dacke13]

First time is always magical. When I first visited the museum with my school I was blown away. And today I work there and I never get tired of the ship. It's a special feeling to be the first in the museum early in the morning before anyone arrives and to have the whole ship for your self. And when the day is over you simply just say ''good night'' and have the ship once again for your self before heading home. The best feeling is when you work at the information desk and see peoples jaw drop everytime and you get those flashbacks of yourself when you first saw the ship as well. And seeing all the people pouring in to the museum is quite fun as well, very lojal and friendly people. I'm happy that you liked your visit! :)

[@DFH86]

Great comment. I visited the museum just 3 weeks ago for the first time and had seen the pictures before. I can only agree, I didnt expect such a behemoth seeing it in person. Absolutely majestic.

[@anugregory007]

I completely agree 👍

[@GeneralHeavy]

I recently visited the museum.

[@mister_grizzlee5105]

Titanic : I've sunk only 3 days into my maiden voyage... Vasa: You are a lucky one child.

[@gunnuts82]

Vasa: Hold my beer

[@I_am_a_cat_]

What a dumb thing to say. People died. Both ships sunk on their maiden voyage. No one was lucky.

[@milesralls7972]

@@I_am_a_cat_I think you’ll get over it.

[@Junkman2008]

God I love KZbin. I remember when my father would buy encyclopedias and we thought that they had unlimited information in them. Little did we realize how limited they were. Now we have access to every subject this universe has to offer and because there are people who believe in and are willing to share, the learning never stops. :)

[@randomrazr]

is the back a reproduction

[@spadeavenger8535]

I agree unlimited random information! Lots of history on youtube more than the damn history channel anymore

[@xchimino2]

And just waint until we hit the next level of information acquisition! Stay tuned for 2030!

[@mcpartridgeboy]

YT best site on the web, im on youtube all day every day, i am very dyslexic so for me its even more important, i can learn about stuff i would have zero chace of learning even if i had axcess to books ! if yt was around when i was born i would have smashed school and got straight A no problem, at least in the subjects i like.

[@Junkman2008]

@@mcpartridgeboy People tell me that if I were their teacher, they would have smashed school too. That's why I like making videos. I can definitely teach anything I find of interest.

[@inkydoug]

Sweden builds a giant warship with art depicting the subjugation of its enemies. It fires a salute and sinks in a stiff breeze 25 minutes after launching. Sweden becomes a neutral/pacifist country.

[@herrbonk3635]

Good joke, but not really. The rest of the 1600s and early 1700s was Sweden at its most imperialist as a country. That Dutch ship builder's fatal design mistake was embarrassing but didn't change any politics. And lots of other ships were built, of course.

[@phillip_iv_planetking6354]

@@herrbonk3635 But after Adolphus and the almost complete destruction of the Swedish army at Nordlingen Sweden was meh.

[@Sulimaaren]

@@phillip_iv_planetking6354 Um...what? Ever heard of Lennart Torstensson? And the Caroleans?

[@adde161]

There was a sistership called Äpplet that worked pretty well for some reason, and the loss of Vasa was not that big of a deal to the Swedish empire as it might seem.

[@phillip_iv_planetking6354]

@@Sulimaaren What about them? They were just footnotes.

[@petenick7829]

I saw Vasa in October of 1985. Current museum wasn't built yet and Vasa didn't have all the rigging that it has now. One of the coolest things I have ever seen.

[@JH-lo9ut]

The rigging on display are the original lower masts, that were still on the ship when found. As of now, the hemp rigging on display is one major concern for the conservators, as the weight of all that hemp rope is slowly crushing the hull. ( It will be decades before serious damage would occur though) The masts stickning out of the roof of the museum are obviously mockups, but they represent the actual size of the rigging when the ship would be floating.

[@ronaldharris7639]

Saw this museum in 1973 while they were still working on it.if you go to Stockholm don’t miss it

[@ccSkydog]

Right on ..My parent's took me to see it too..in 1977..i was seven..it was amasing..went to lots of old places through Europe..ended in stolkholm Sweden...where dads mom was from.. (she was from farther northern Sweden..in Stragnäs..we also saw the Swedish crown jewels too. My dads ashes are scattered in Stragnäs now..I wasn't with my sister for that.. but was by his deathbed..all the same...he's home..over his familys graves..just ashes scattered in the field..no stone markers. To you in Valhalla dad.🍻 .keep the light on.. see ya again some day.💙💛💙✌🇸🇪

[@JohnSmith-cy9tt]

I had the same tripp 1978 - Today I live in Sweden so i have the oportunity to visit this ship ever year if i like ....today Im at the bord of the new project - The plans are to rebuild it to a 100% replica ship ...It will be done - Trust me ...Donations are wellcome...2019 we are close to start of this amazing task to rebuild the Wasa ship ,,, Look at what we did with Ostindiafararen .... www.soic.se/

[@zerofox7347]

@@JohnSmith-cy9tt won't it just sink though?

[@rickandrew6397]

I also saw it in that point of restoration in summer 1970, wearing the raincoat they provided, it was awesome experience 👏👌✌️

[@s.othymcgee330]

We visited the vasa museum this morning…There are no words to describe the feeling the moment you see this gigantic ship…I had goosebumps! Also all the informations about the ship are very interesting, the explanations are short but very informative; so it never gets boring…best museum i,ve ever visited!

[@888Marco]

"The king is to blame, so no one is accused."

[@itsMe_TheHerpes]

i don't think God liked this ship. like... if this doesn't qualify as an "act of God" then i don't know what will.

[@harleyokeefe5193]

it'sMe TheHerpes it wasn’t an act of god lmao, it was poor ship design, the hull wasn’t wide enough for the weight of the ship, on top of that the gun emplacements where far to close to the waterline, so when the gust of wind caught the sails the ship tipped because the hull was to narrow and then water came in through the gun ports. Don’t blame god for bad designs lmao

[@itsMe_TheHerpes]

@@harleyokeefe5193 it was an act of god. but... at the end of the day, it depends on how you want to see things. if you want to put all those mishappenings together and say that it's a long set of coincidences one after another, yes you can do that. ANYWAY, even if i think that, i wasn't talking about that, but i was talking about the "act of god" law, that can be brought to court against insurance companies. they always look for ways not to pay you, and they NEVER pay you the full amount that that they should(let me explain using a real case scenario. one fellow that had a life insurance got cancer one day, and the insurance company, made investigations and they discovered that one of his tooth fillings is made out of a composite that is not used any more, so they blamed that for his cancer. so, instead of paying the full amount that was owed, they got away with paying 1/3 because of a tooth filling) BUT, if you can prove in court that it was an "act of god" and you literally had no doing in this, then they have to pay the full extent, plus something extra for the trial. SAVY ? ye' heathen.

[@harleyokeefe5193]

it'sMe TheHerpes how is a badly designed ship a coincidence, there where no coincidences the ship was badly designed that why it sunk, period.

[@itsMe_TheHerpes]

@@harleyokeefe5193 how does a team of workers and engineers that build ships FOR A LIVING totally miss out on the bad design of the ship ? did they all "accidentally" missed out the flaws ? idk.

[@ezragonzalez8936]

I put together a 1/50 scale model took me 2 years to complete and still working on painting itt as historically accurate as possible such a glorious ship! Its heartbreaking the fact that its deterioration is inevitable and accelerating if a way tk neutralize the acids in the wood it. It will eventually crumble to saw dust! Cheers from Salt Lake city!

[@GeneralHeavy]

They are doing everything they can to preserve it. Perhaps soon a oxygen free area would be required to preserve it.

[@jeangare6585]

I visited the Vasa a few years back on one of my visits to Stockholm where my son lives with his family.Nothing can prepare you for the first breathtaking views when you enter this museum.Amazing place.

[@dennislindqvist8443]

The best museum I have ever visited. The ship is a true work of art.

[@Bayan1905]

As massive as the Vasa was, the Swedish military had an even larger ship called the Kronan. The Kronan was in the Battle of Oland during the Scanian War in 1768 and a wind came up and blew it flat, but unlike the Vasa, the Kronin blew up when the powder magazine had a linstock that went off. The wreck was found but there isn't a lot left of it, unlike the Vasa.

[@raymondleggs5508]

Michael bay would be the perfect director for a movie about the kronan.

[@tapiokorpi988]

Kronan was pretty cool,but the scanian war wasn’t 1768 it was 1676.

[@scottw550]

@@raymondleggs5508 call it Kronan the Barbarian.

[@L.C.Sweeney]

Just went to the museum today. Was pretty mindblowing when you walk in the front door and the Vasa is staring at you.

[@SarenArterius]

I visited Stockholm few years ago with my sisters. Part of our trip was unplanned so I was looking for tourist spots randomly on Google map and I quickly picked Vasa Museum. Half a hour after, we left the hotel and went to there. It was a really great visit and even my picky sisters were amazed. Would definitely regret if we missed it.

[@Vixsniper]

I was aware the old Nordic ships were of absolute standout craftmanship but this Vasa.....I am simply floored!! It is like a ship from fantasy land. Such exquisite beauty & mind boggling carving! What happened to such love of an art, skill & dedication. I am from New Zealand & have Swedish ancestory through my great grandfather. I'v always wanted to see Sweden & visit any relatives I have there & of course without a doubt see the Vasa ship in all her awesome majesty. 🇳🇿 💙 🇸🇪

[@loenigma69]

This was a really good video. Covered all the interesting and pertinent information in a concise way. I can't wait to visit this museum.

[@johnnyg2501]

need a lego version

[@destinationsofhistory7077]

Yes!

[@Blau-grana]

@@destinationsofhistory7077 i need an "REAL" life vasa ship btw hi from sweden

[@Deripperda]

Lego is danish

[@skitunge9677]

@@Deripperda and?

[@Deripperda]

78u89897 nothing lol

[@jaygreider4753]

I'm a US Navy veteran. In 1996, I married a Swedish girl that I met in USA. We went to Sweden for me to meet her parents, who lived near the Norwegian border. Having seen most of Europe, I had never been to Sweden. We stayed in Stockholm for 3 days before going to her parents. She showed me how beautiful Stockholm is and capped it off with a day long visit to the Vasa Museum. What a spectacular (albeit, a funny/sad story) ship. I would love to see it again.

[@jerrybarnes6611]

Excellent video. This ship is spectacular . I saw it a few years ago. A visit to this museum alone makes a trip to Stockholm worth while.

[@MustObeyTheRules]

I wonder how long it took them to build a ship like that at the time? I mean that looks impressive even by modern standards. So much intricate detail in everything.

[@mashedpotato4465]

it took like 2 years between 1626-1628

[@tjoohoo11]

Just came from the museum. About 400 people working on ut for 2 years.

[@KevinGrahamArt]

Ya these days no one cares about the artistry. Just mass produced ugly designs. Sadly a lost art.

[@colinsmith6116]

I must say, that model of the Wasa and the other models are absolutely marvellous. Great work.

[@JH-lo9ut]

If you ever visit Stockholm, don't miss the museum of maritime history. They have a great collection of high quality ship models.

[@Mctrippzy]

I went when I was 11 in 2001. Loved it, stayed 6 weeks in Sweden. And went to helsinki on the vikingline too. Brilliant places to see.

[@johnshoosmith]

You did a very thorough job! Much appreciated! I've heard about this ship for decades, and it is unlikely I'll have the chance to see it in person. So these sorts of documents are really wonderful for those of us that can't be there, and any time soon, if all. Thank you!

[@carolinepersons4260]

I hope you can go someday! Don’t give up on that, ever.

[@TragicDestiny82]

RIP to the sailors and their families.

[@ricktatum]

Wow that ship is spectacular it's not just a warship but it looks like a piece of fine art, that ship is

[@GreatCityAttractions]

Yes amazing

[@88mistvh77]

This ship is such a majestic piece of floating art ❤️ When i saw that ship i was absolutely blown away by the craftmanship and the size of it… Just beautiful.

[@derekstocker6661]

Absolutely wonderful salvage work and preservation, thank you for this most interesting glimpse of a fabulous ship that is also a work of art and a salute to marine preservation skills.

[@russwentz3957]

Joshua, thank you so much for the tour and historical information! I really enjoyed it.

[@destinationsofhistory7077]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@1spore2]

It's a work of art.

[@coreycarlaw9386]

Very nice introduction into the Vasa, thank you for the video Josh

[@trinescape]

That was great i never knew of this ship ,what magnificent ship building skills back then ,thanks for posting well done !!

[@adamski6633]

a polish curse :) but nice ship though, greetings from Poland

[@lesrush6298]

Been there it’s an impressive ship ,was far bigger than I thought it would be

[@talonnokone5429]

I don't know if I will ever see this in person. So thank you for this video.

[@nanuq83]

Thank you! This was incredibly interesting :)

[@syang1116]

First acknowledged this amazing event when I was a teen during 70s from Reader’s Digest. Wish to visit this museum after this pandemic.

[@carolinepersons4260]

I hope you do! It would be amazing.

[@DAquingil]

Great presentation, and very well documented. Thanks for making this wonderful video.

[@mangouni]

Excellent video. Really well done. I am going to watch it with my students in class.

[@destinationsofhistory7077]

Thank you!

[@paulerickson1906]

Amazing that they had a form of diving bells at the time.

[@johnmolinar2084]

Visited 08/2019 awesome don’t miss it well balanced and honest perspective

[@rudivandereep9611]

I have just watch footage of the recovery an restoration , amazing

[@hdspearman1]

Great job, Joshua! I would love to see it some day.

[@flyshacker]

Fantastic!! I must see this museum! Great job with this video!!!

[@BleachHawk1900]

Very informative and well done video, thank you!

[@peggyscott66]

Fascinating video ! Enjoyed it very much.

[@TwistyMcFisty1]

Very well done. Thankyou young man!!

[@hyperfixationofthemonth]

So Vasa has been my special interest since I was 2 years old (I’m almost 18 now). I live in southern Sweden but have family in Stockholm so I visit at least once a year, every time I’m there I visit the museum at least once, it’s my favourite museum. The museum is the top rated museum in all of Sweden, it is super accessible, has elevators to every floor, including the overlook floor, you can even borrow wheelchairs right past the entrance of the museum if you feel the need. It’s pretty dark in the museum and it’s usually pretty quiet and even on busy days it still feels open and spacious and the only place where you might get overwhelmed by smells is in the restaurant making it perfect for people such as myself with sensory issues. I could go on about stuff about the ship itself but I think the video did a wonderful job of that so I’ll let you discover more about it if you ever decide to visit which I hope you’ll have the opportunity to do, it’s an incredible experience

[@darrenwalley91]

Brilliant video. 📹 Really enjoyed it & thank you for sharing. 😊

[@dariogonzalez233]

magnific ancient ship, nice video man.

[@destinationsofhistory7077]

Thanks for watching!

[@GreatCityAttractions]

A lovely video - a fascinating sight!

[@issacbishop5805]

Excellent video! Thank you.

[@1teamski]

Awesome museum and a great presentation!!

[@MudGod1969]

Had the pleasure of seeing this beautiful ship in 1997, a long journey from Vermont USA..but very much worth the trip.. excellent job on the renovation, definitely go see her if you ever get to Sweden..:) an eternal thank you Greg and Petra..

[@JohnSmith-cy9tt]

Wellcome back to Sweden - and support the new Project...rebuild WASA .....we did it with The East Indiaman Götheborg .. www.soic.se and we will do it with Wasa for sure

[@starcrib]

Excellent commentary and video! 🥁🥁🥁.

[@chlordk]

This is the best museum I have ever seen. Plan a hole day or two for seeing it. You will not regret. Greetings from Denmark.

[@GreatCityAttractions]

Looks amazing!

[@goingfreenow3297]

So many reasons why I want to travel Europe. They have such a rich history with all their spectacular inventions.

[@_DENZEL_]

great video man, thanks

[@feelfreemtb3474]

A very nice video. When I saw the Vasa in august this year my jaw dropped for some time.

[@jb-mk5ln]

Awesome video!

[@AtifFaridMohammad]

I was there 3 weeks ago. Thanks for sharing. Well Done.

[@GreatCityAttractions]

a fascinating sight to explore

[@cynn9131]

Very nice video !!

[@donaldlucas8688]

Great job Joshua.

[@rickandrew6397]

I visited in 1970 when it was in a preservation prep inside the building being sprinkled every day on a schedule to allow preservation of the raised remaining wood. The sprinklers went off on a schedule multiple times during the 24 hours of day, you were provided raincoats to wear while inside the building. It was very interesting seeing the ship fairly recently out of the harbor, along with a lot of the other things like canon, cooking/eating utensils, etc. very glad it was successfully completed effort. Would love to go back and see, glad they posted this to YT 👏👌✌️

[@kristofferhellstrom]

Thanks for sharing your interesting story!!

[@kareyriggs1018]

I remember when we also took pride in our work and even put our names on it and our businesses. In good shape for 300 years

[@peaveawwii1]

Finally something about the Wasa in English. Yes

[@destinationsofhistory7077]

Thanks for watching!

[@robtraquair1882]

Nice work, just what I was looking for. I wanted to see to see how it compared to the Danish longship museum I went to. Totally different time and scale. Impressive.

[@benjaminpastrana9662]

Thank you from Puerto Rico! Amazing story

[@westcoastbronco]

Thanks for sharing.

[@overly_unproductive4284]

Really cool, been there once with my family

[@latifyanar2853]

Thanks for the information.

[@dmrbricks6673]

Joshua Hanlon from btb. Hey man, its nice to see you doing these videos.

[@Valdaemonium]

Gorgeous!! Glorious!!

[@vindicari]

EXCELLENT VIDEO

[@michaelmaese2247]

Great report 😊

[@finncarlbomholtsrensen1188]

In the seventies I went up through Sweden with a friend and we visited The Vasa, which by then became exhibited on a pontoon in the harbor, after having been saved from the bottom of the water, after its find some years before. It was made longer as they had found out the ship was longer than expected! It really was a "faulty built" from a Dutch Shipbuilder, as its hull and its ballast wasn't nearly roomy or heavy enough for its size, so it only had 4 sails up, when it capsized. Before that an Admiral had 30 men running from side to side, to test its stability, but after a few times it began rolling so dangerously, that it was stopped, but nothing was done from that! After all The King had agreed to its built! I have never seen its finished version in the Museum, but I would very much like to see it again.

[@stevefazzio]

Very informative video. Thank you.

[@andrealexandresoares3912]

Thank you!!!

[@daakrolb]

Great video.

[@sandrablanchette2239]

This was a great video! I want to go now

[@IrrationalCharm]

WOW!! I never knew this :0 Very cool, I'd love to visit this one day.

[@destinationsofhistory7077]

Thanks for watching!

[@JohnSmith-cy9tt]

Wellcome to Sweden

[@jaimeperezchavez6046]

Great video

[@Englund44]

nice and informative video!

[@destinationsofhistory7077]

Thanks for watching!

[@johncollins719]

I saw the Vasa in 2010. We were told that the ship never had it's stone ballast loaded, so when the wind came, with the cannon ports open, it's fate was sealed. Apparently they planned to sail to the outer part of the harbor and take on the needed ballast.

[@strumitt]

Well done. I live in Uppsala Sweden. I've taken many of my friends to the Vasa. Never sissies to impress!

[@yoyoma27payer]

great video

[@granskare]

We visited this great ship a few years ago - a great ship!

[@granskare]

I have encouraged my son to visit when he is in Sweden - I did the same with a friend in Eire.

[@destinationsofhistory7077]

It's a fantastic museum to visit. Thanks for watching!

[@MmmChipotle]

That woodwork is amazing.

[@DFH86]

It really is. God, I'd love to paint all those details.

[@outsidethepyramid]

Brilliant! I want to visit.... (from Liverpool)

[@totljag1]

Cool 😎 great video thanks

[@p12anjacobmlgnoscoper86]

That moment when you buy something from IKEA but you don't follow the instructions on how to build it properly.

[@sandraquito3540]

Amazing the building of such a beauty!!! And even greater the recovery from the bottom of history for us to marvel!!! 🥂

[@nathalieeriksson467]

I have visited The museom Great video and a Great place to visit

[@destinationsofhistory7077]

Thanks for watching!

[@miawrannert4161]

As impressive as the ship looks, it was still a failure (lucky for us). The salvaging and preservation of the ship is amazing work as well and I think the people who work on it deserves more recognition and credit

[@herrbonk3635]

_"Lucky for us"_ How? Other Swedish warships were not failures and Europe still exists.

[@miawrannert4161]

@@herrbonk3635 poorly worded, perhaps. I just ment she sank intact as opposed to being blown up in battle. At the time she was useless, now she servs a purpose for people who have an interest in history.

[@herrbonk3635]

@@miawrannert4161 Yes, there are many aspects.

[@nunyabuziness8421]

Amazing it survived in water over 300 years. Even today it would be difficult to build a ship like that

[@GreatCityAttractions]

Yes agreed amazing even if it sunk!

[@eriksahlin8853]

Great video and very nice footage! To be technical I think the ship builder died shortly before the ship was launched because of sickness. However during the trials I think he was found guilty but since he was dead its correct that he wasnt punished. However his brother and his son were sentenced instead, but the brother managed to escape to the Netherlands. I think the son was executed. The reason why the king is said to be at blame is becuase he first commissioned several smaller ships. These ships had already started their construction when the king changed his mind and wanted a big ship instead. However since construction already had started they used the base for the smaller ships inatead of scraping them and starting all over (its very expensive to build ships). This lead to the vasa being way to thin for its size. This combined with what is mentioned in the video and the great number of cannons (which made the ship very top heavy) made it sink.

[@omarmekdoud]

Saw the museum in 1988 so good memories

[@karney6583]

Amazing

[@nithishtr2489]

Vikrant Rona 😁😉

[@SN-ov8kq]

I am watching this video because I have some project to do.

[@turesfilm8236]

What project