The Swedish king Gustav II Adolf had the Vasa ship built in the late 1620s. According to historians, the king wanted to use the decorations to show that he was Sweden’s rightful holder of the throne, to demonstrate his power and the righteous war that was going on against Poland.
Both the Polish king Sigismund and Gustav II Adolf were grandsons of Gustav Vasa and considered themselves entitled to the Swedish throne. The fact that Sigismund was Catholic, and not Protestant, also contributed to the cousins being enemies.
World-unique time capsule
But the Vasa ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 and has since become a world-unique time capsule from the beginning of the 17th century.
See the whole The world of science – The secrets of the Vasa ship on SVT play or on 25/9 at 8pm on SVT1