Wikipedia:Today's featured article/April 24, 2008

The museum ship Vasa shot from port

Vasa is a warship that was built for Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden from 1626 to 1628. The ship foundered and sank on her maiden voyage on August 10 1628 after sailing only about twenty minutes. Vasa fell into obscurity after some initial attempts at recovering her in the 17th century but was relocated in the late 1950s and salvaged with a largely intact hull on April 24 1961. Thousands of artifacts and the remains of 16 people were found inside or near Vasa by marine archaeologists. Among the many items found were clothing, weapons, cannons, tools, coins, cutlery, food, drink and six of the ten sails. The artifacts and the ship itself have provided historians with invaluable insight into details of naval warfare, shipbuilding techniques and everyday life in early 17th-century Sweden. Vasa was housed in a temporary museum called Wasavarvet ("The Wasa Shipyard") until 1987, and was then moved to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. The ship is one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions and has as of 2008 attracted more than 25 million visitors. (more...)

Recently featured: Thierry Henry – Pearl Jam – Monarchy of the United Kingdom