The Vasa Shipwreck

What a sight! We knew the Vasa shipwreck was a "don't miss" stop in Stockholm, but we were still unprepared for how magnificient she truly is.

Built in 1628, she set to sea on her maiden voyage, and proceeded to immediately sink in front of all the spectators and dignitaries, taking 50 sailors with her to the ocean bottom.

In 1961 the Swedes lifted it and restored it. She had been under water for 333 years. She is now the world's only surviving 17th-century ship, and is proudly displayed in a beatiful museum built all around her. Read more

More than any museum, the Vasa display really brought the past to life for us.