Sink Below the Sea with Brickwrecks at the Vasa Museum
The Vasa Museum is a must-see during your visit to Stockholm. Currently it has the Brickwrecks exhibition which makes it an even more spectacular attraction. Learn all about it!
Oh no! Maybe we should not have made the ship out of bricks.
The cost of our visit was covered by the Stockholm Business Region. I partner with Stay22, and when you book through my links, I receive a small commission that helps support my blog.
What is the Vasa Museum?
The Vasa Museum houses the only preserved 17th century ship in the world. The ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1628. It was raised from the ocean in 1961. The ship was restored and preserved over decades while the museum was built around this ship.
The imposing facade of the Vasa
Where is the museum?
The Vasa Museum is located in Stockholm within the island of Djurgården.
How was the ship preserved so well?
The ship sank in the Stockholm Harbor soon after setting out. People have hypothesized that the brackish water of the Baltic Sea helped to preserve the ship.
Why did the Vasa sink?
The Vasa was initially designed to be a powerful warship in the fleet of the Swedish navy. Unfortunately it sank soon after starting out on its maiden voyage. There are multiple reasons for the ship sinking. One of the reasons included it having a faulty design that put its center of gravity too high above the water. Another reason was the gun ports being open when it set sail, allowing water to pour in. The hull of the ship should also have been made wider and deeper so that it could have carried more ballast.
What is some history behind the Vasa?
Gustav Adolf II was the a member of the Vasa dynasty who ascended to the throne of Sweden in 1611. At the time of his ascension the country was already in three wars with Russia, Denmark and Poland-Lithuania. This later led to him commissioning the building of four new ships in 1625. The Vasa was designed by shipwright Henrik Hybertsson. It was supposed to be the most powerful warship in the Baltic and held 64 cannons. The Vasa was named after the Swedish Royal family as well as its heraldic symbol of a bundle of sticks. Although there were signs it was not ready beforehand it set out on its maiden voyage on August 10th, 1628. Unfortunately it sank after only traveling 1,300 meters. Thirty five years after the sinking divers were able to bring up its cannons. After some more attempts the ship was lifted from the water in April of 1961. It was displayed in the Vasa shipyard in February of 1962. Conservation of the ship started later that year and continued until 1979. The ship was then dried out until 1989. The new Vasa museum was opened on June 15th, 1990.
What is there to see at the Vasa museum?
The highlight of the museum is the enormous ship that can be viewed from multiple floors. It is truly spectacular to behold. By walking through the museum there are many different viewpoints to enjoy its majesty. There are also exhibits along the way relating to things such as the passengers, food that was eaten on ships at the time and more. Visitors can learn about the construction of the ship, its sinking and its restoration. There is also a 17 minute long film telling visitors about the Vasa.
Fleet of ships
Cross section model of the Vasa
What are important things to know before going to the museum?
Anyone up to the age of 18 can visit for free! The museum had restrooms inside as well as water refill stations. Visitors cannot have food or drinks inside unless they are in the restaurant. There are guided tours that are 25 minutes long and included in the cost of your admission. To learn more things to know before your visit be sure to visit this page: Plan Your Visit.
How can you reach the museum?
We found it easy to take a tram from outside the Central Station. We took tram 7 to the Nordiskamuseet/Vasamuseet stop. It was then a short walk through Djurgården to the museum. Another day we visited Djurgården by taking the Stromma Hop-On, Hop-Off Ferry. Find out other ways to reach the museum here: How to Get to the Vasa Museum.
Tram 7 to Djurgården
Will kids enjoy the museum?
Yes! Kids love boats so they are sure to enjoy this museum. There are multiple things it offers for kids such as this English audioguide designed for kids ages 8 to 12 years old. For younger children there is a film called The Vasa Piglet. We stopped at the information desk and picked up a guide for younger kids we enjoyed using as we strolled around the museum.
The Family Trail is designed for kids ages 6 and up. It gives you a path to follow as you walk through the museum. It also tells you about different things you see along the way. There are lots of interesting things to see such as the model of the Vasa, stones used for ballast, a cabin of the ship and more.
We also visited during the Brickwrecks exhibition, so this had some extra things for kids and adults to do as well which I have chronicled below.
What is Brickwrecks?
This is the current exhibit at the Vasa Museum. It is an impressive display of LEGO® models depicting eight famous shipwrecks. It took over 1600 hours to complete as well as over 153,000 LEGO® bricks. The display chronicles the wreck and rescue efforts of the Vasa. The model of the Vasa can even rotate and “sink” by turning a wheel. There are also multiple other shipwrecks that were built for this display. Initially it was set to close in September but luckily visitors can now view it until January 6th, 2025.
Brickwrecks was brought to life by Ryan “The Brickman” McNaught along with maritime archaeologists, the Western Australian Museum and the Australian National Maritime Museum. It was originally exhibited in Australia and will soon be heading to Denmark.
During the autumn holidays there will be extra LEGO® activities offered from October 26th until November 3rd. These will include things such as meeting with professional builders and a magic show.
Excavation of the HMS Pandora
What is the history behind some of the other wrecks in Brickwrecks?
The Batavia set out on its maiden voyage from Holland in October of 1628. It was carrying 330 passengers as well as precious cargo. Initially the plan was to head to Indonesia to purchase spices before its return to Europe. It was wrecked on June 4th, 1629 and it is the second oldest known shipwreck. It occurred after the ship hit a reef at the Houtman Abrolhos islands. Find out more about the gruesome events that happened next at the exhibit. Wouter Loos and Jan Pelgrom de Bye were two mutineers that were decided to be marooned in Australia. They were likely the first Europeans to live in Australia. There is an interesting 3D viewer through which you can see photos as well as a LEGO® model of the ship at this exhibit.
The HMS Pandora was wrecked on August 29th, 1791 after it hit the Great Barrier Reef located near Cape York. It had been returning from searching for the mutinous crew of the Bounty. It is one of the best-preserved shipwrecks in Australia. The exhibit had a great LEGO® display showing divers unearthing sections of the ship.
The RMS Titanic had set out on April 10th, 1912 on its first voyage as the world’s largest ship. It was considered to be unsinkable. The ship left Southampton, England and was initially heading to New York City. On April 14th the ship hit an iceberg in the night after which it sank within a few hours. The wreck was discovered on September 1st, 1985 about 600 km southeast of Newfoundland. The ship can be shown suspended in air, simulating how the ship sank.
The Terror and Erebus were two ships that had been out on numerous expeditions. The ships left England in 1845 to search for the Northwest Passage. It is uncertain exactly when both ships were lost. They became trapped in the ice. The HMS Erebus was discovered by Parks Canada and the Inuit community in 2014. The HMS Terror was discovered in 2016. See the LEGO® model depicting the ships frozen on an ice field of LEGO®’s.
The Shinan was a Chinese trade vessel that sank in the 1320s on its way to Japan along the Silk Road. The wreck was discovered in 1975 close to South Korea. There is a large LEGO® model of this ship in the exhibition.
Some other wrecks we did not have time to peruse included the Uluburen wreck off the coast of Turkey and the MV Rena shipwreck at the Astrolabe reef in New Zealand.
Batavia
The Shinan
“I don’t know about you but I intend to write a strongly worded letter to the White Star Line about all of this.”
Our Experience
When planning our trip to Stockholm we knew the Vasa Museum was a place we must visit. My five-year-old had wanted to go after reading about it in Starters Places: Sweden.
We entered the Vasa Museum and were immediately blown away by the ship looming in front of us. The pictures do not do it justice. We picked up a kid’s guide and started our walk around the museum. We liked viewing the ship from angles such as below the hull of the ship. The kids were intrigued to learn about foods people would eat on board ships at the time. They were also interested to learn about what life was like on board a ship. My daughter enjoyed standing inside of a diving bell. This was what divers used to retrieve the cannons of the Vasa. After we had walked through a good portion of the museum, we headed to Brickwrecks.
Brickwrecks housed multiple LEGO® models of shipwrecks. There were also informational signs about the wrecks as well. Our whole family enjoyed sinking the LEGO® model of the Vasa. We also learned more about the Batavia, Titanic and the HMS Pandora.
We had fun in the section where you gathered things from the ocean floor and x-rayed them to see what lied within the chunks of sediment you had put into the machine. There was an interesting place where you could drive an ROV on a screen to photograph a wreck. The kids also enjoyed the children’s section of the exhibition where they had to clean a penguin that had been in an oil spill, play with Duplo blocks, play a game on the sea floor and more.
Afterwards we noted there was also a garden behind the Vasa Museum. We also ate some hot dogs from a hot dog vendor behind the museum that was located near the water. We had an hour and a half to visit. I would recommend allotting at least three hours to spend there.
Starters Places: Sweden
What will you find?
Help clean the penguin!
Is there a video of what to expect?
Yes. It is located here: Brickwrecks Vasa Museum Video.
Where can I stay when visiting the Vasa Museum?
Check out this map below for ideas. We had a great stay in a private room at the Generator Hostel.
The Vasa museum was well worth a visit. Be sure to check it out!Sources I used: Brickwrecks WAM, Wreck of the Batavia, Terror and Erebus History and Vasamuseet.