The “Vasa” fights for survival: New steel skeleton to save Sweden’s national treasure

When the "Vasa" was laid down in 1626, it was a demonstration of power: As one of the largest and best-equipped warships of her time, the mighty three-master was intended to underscore Sweden's claim to great power status. Unfortunately, the designers had made a massive miscalculation in calculating the center of gravity: The "Vasa" was too heavy at the top and too light at the bottom, and on her maiden voyage, she capsized after just 1,200 meters – and sank in the harbor of Stockholm.

Now, almost 400 years later, the "Vasa" faces the same fate again. The imposing wreck—raised from the depths in 1961 and exhibited in its own museum since 1990—is finding it increasingly difficult to support its own weight. "Slowly but surely, the ship is sinking," says Magnus Olofsson, who is responsible for preserving this unique cultural heritage for future generations. He is determined to fulfill his mission.

But even if the "Vasa" is meant to last forever, Olofsson's team has to work hard for much shorter time horizons. They are currently working on a particularly complex restoration project: Put simply, a skeleton made of a particularly lightweight and corrosion-resistant special steel is being installed in the ship. This will better hold the historic wooden panels together.

The first new supports were installed in 2024. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2028.

Source: Anneli Karlsson/Vasamuseet/SMTM

The outer support structure, which supports the ship's enormous hull, is also being completely replaced: instead of 17, there will now be 27 supports. These supports will gently cradle the fragile structure in even more places, the expert explains. In contrast, the existing support structures actually exerted pressure on the dark oak wood, and that's exactly what shouldn't be happening. More than ten years of tinkering were needed to develop a better support system.

Its installation is absolute precision work. "We're doing it piece by piece, and everything is planned very precisely," says Olofsson. And all of this is happening while the museum remains fully open to the public. More than a million visitors from all over the world flock here every year. Only now, during the relatively short Swedish summer, are the work paused, allowing the restorers to relax before getting back to work.

The project is scheduled to be completed in time for the 400th anniversary of the fateful maiden voyage of the "Vasa" on August 10, 2028. The cost of the comprehensive measures will amount to the equivalent of almost 18 million euros – at least. Private donors are contributing significantly, as the "Vasa" is considered a national treasure of exceptional quality.

The greatest difficulties for the restorers are the high stern of the “Vasa”, which is particularly richly decorated with several figures.

Source: Karonina Kristensson, Vasamuseet/SMTM

The greatest difficulty for the museum's curators is the Vasa's high stern, which is particularly richly decorated with numerous figures. This is difficult to support, says Olofsson, because the wood here is very porous. And in general, the ship was poorly built in this area from the start. "For the Vasa, it would be best if there was no oxygen in here and if it were completely dark and very cold," he says. "Around minus 60 degrees would be good." Because only under such conditions would all the chemical processes that damage the wood be permanently stopped.

For a good two decades, a powerful air conditioning system has maintained a constant 18 degrees Celsius, and the humidity in the dimly lit hall is also meticulously regulated. No effort has been spared to preserve the ship: Between 2011 and 2018, for example, 5,000 rusty iron bolts were replaced with stainless steel ones. They are expected to last for at least 150 years. This measure alone has reduced the ship's overall weight by a good eight tons.

Incidentally, the exact weight of the "Vasa" as a whole is still unknown, says Olofsson. "We estimate its weight at 800 to 1,200 tons." The new ship's supports were designed based on this assumption, and since they will contain sensors that closely monitor the ship, the exact load will soon be quantified.

The installation of the new supports and the steel skeleton also brings another huge advantage: the three-masted ship can be gently righted slightly. "The 'Vasa' has a tendency to capsize and sink," the project manager describes the problem. It's only a slight suspicion, but the warship does lean slightly to port. Over time, even this minor posture problem will develop into a real problem, and it is now being corrected.

"For the Vasa, it would be best if there were no oxygen in here and if it were completely dark and very cold," says Magnus Olofsson. "About minus 60 degrees would be good."

Source: Anneli Karlsson, Vasamuseet/SMTM

The ongoing preservation work is considered the greatest challenge since the wreck was recovered from the sea and the labor-intensive conservation of the artifacts. The wood was sprayed with the chemical polyethylene glycol for over seventeen years. It then had to dry for another nine years.

In April of this year, two environmental activists caused a moment of shock when they climbed onto the ship. Museum director Lars Amréus immediately condemned the incident in the strongest terms. "Such actions have no place in museums or the cultural sector as a whole," he complained. Fortunately, no damage to the ship has been detected so far.

Sweden's Minister of Culture, Parisa Liljestrand, also expressed outrage: "To be honest, I'm furious," she blurted out when she heard about the activists' protest. The Vasa is one of the country's most important and beloved cultural treasures and should under no circumstances be exposed to the unnecessary risk of grossly negligent damage.

Beautifully decorated: There are plenty of sculptures at the Vasa.

Source: Anneli Karlsson, Vasamuseet/SMTM

The activist group "Återställ våtmarker" (literally "Save the Wetlands") was founded in 2022. Its primary goal is to stop peat extraction in Sweden. Members of the group have already blocked roads in the kingdom on numerous occasions to achieve this goal – similar to the "climate glue" movement here. They have also collaborated with the radical network "Extinction Rebellion."

The activists achieved their most sensational coup to date in spring 2023, when they disrupted singer Loreen's performance during the live national Eurovision Song Contest "Melodifestivalen." She was forced to cut short the performance and sing the eventual winning song "Tattoo" a second time.

However, there is no other "Vasa"—at least not in such a fabulous state of preservation. Although the wreck of one of her sister ships was discovered in the archipelago off Stockholm in December 2021, due to the significantly higher oxygen and salt content of the water at the site, much less remains of the "Äpplet" than of the "Vasa."

According to contemporary sources, the "Äpplet" also didn't have particularly good sailing characteristics, even though the shipbuilders had already learned lessons from the sinking of the "Vasa" during its construction. Maritime archaeologists now hope to gain important insights into the exact changes to the construction plan through a more detailed examination of the wreck.