5. Riksvasa

At the beginning of the 17th century Sweden was at war with Poland. In 1623 there was a temporary cease-fire but rumours began to spread that a Polish invasion fleet was planning to attack Stockholm. A protective squadron of six warships and five other vessels, was posted outside Djurhamn. One of these warships was the Riksvasa, a ship which had served in the fleet for 25 years and taken part in the siege of Riga in 1621. An unexplained fire broke out on board and the ship sank under the present-day bridge.

The Riksvasa lay at the bottom of the sea for more than three hundred years. In the 1950s the wreck attracted the interest of a group of scuba divers. At that time old wrecks were not protected by law and so the divers were able to raise what was left of the ship. Cannonballs, anchors and the ship’s rudder were the first objects to be salvaged. Some of the artefacts were handed over to the maritime museum, while the divers kept the hull timber, approximately 25 tons of saturated black oak.

The black oak was used to make souvenirs which were sold or given away. Salt and pepper mills were made for the Operakällaren; holders for candlesticks and cigarette lighters were manufactured. The organisers of the Vasaloppet skiing race and the mining company LKAB bought objects to be used as prizes and gifts.

This salvage venture was criticized by both the local population and the authorities in charge of antiquities. A direct result of the criticism was that the Swedish law on antiquities was changed in 1967 to include shipwrecks.

To get to stop number 6 go back past the Boat House restaurant and continue towards the barbecue site.