Friday, June 10, 2005

I was researching about Vasa, the mighty boat that sank at its virgin voyage in 1628. Now put some information that I found, about the ship and Stockholm at that time:

A short description of Stockholm around 1628.
When Vasa was launched in 1628 Sweden was a poor country. This was evident in the capital, Stockholm. The city was not exactly a rich and bustling metropolis. The population only amounted to ten thousand. During autumn and spring a fair number of sailors and soldiers lived in the city and the population would rise to about twice the normal. Stockholm was a dangerous city to live in, mortality was very high and fires frequently raged. The central part of Stockholm was Gamla Stan, the "Old Town". It was called Stadsholmen in those days. This was where the city´s trade was conducted. Naturally, many traders lived in that area. Germans made up a large portion of the traders.

Here is a map of Stockholm from 1640.

The Vasa was heavily armed with a total of 64 guns. 48 of these were large 24-pounders. The armament of the Vasa weighed 80 tons. The cannonballs for the 24-pounders weighed about 10 kilos each. These guns were very valuable and, as mentioned, were salvaged in the late 17th century. Only 3 of the large 24-pounders remained on board when the ship was raised. This was probably fortunate, the 80 ton weight of the guns could have damaged the ship had they remained there until 1961.
A few figures: Weight of the hull: 1200 tons
Weight of ballast: 120 tons
Total length including the bow-sprit: 69 meters
Greatest width: 11,7 meters
Height from keel to the top of the mainmast: 52,5 meters
Draught: about 5 meters
Number of sails: 10
The three largest masts: The mizzen-mast in the aft,
the mainmast midships and the foremast in the stern.
A picture of the Vasa showing her decks, text in swedish(read the text below instead).

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