The Ship Important dates Vasa sank in 1628 and in 2009 she struck visitor record! Much has happened in between. King Gustav II Adolf King Gustav II Adolf was the king who built the Vasa. For him status symbols were important - as the Vasa is a... How Vasa was built It took almost two years to build Vasa. Lots of craftsmen were involved in the construction, led by Dutchman H... Life on board The risk of dying of disease was much higher for the ordinary saeman than the risk of dying in combat. The war ship Vasa was a fearsome war machine. With 64 guns and 300 soldiers should she scare and defeat the Polish enemy. The sinking After just a few minutes the ship heeled over to port, then heeled again, even farther. Water rushed in throug... The salvage At 9:03 AM on the 14th of April, 1961, Vasa returned to the surface. A piece of the 17th century was suddenly ... Reconstruction The work to build up Vasa again was a gigantic jigsaw puzzle work. The wood in the Vasa is original to 95%. Collections The Vasa Museum collection consists of the Vasa itself and all of the objects that were found with the ship. Sculptures Hundreds of sculptures on the ship reflect how King Gustav Adolf wanted the world to see Sweden and himself. Vasa in numbers Length, breadth, height, draught, displacement, sail area, number of sails, armament, crew.