What drives the high-tech Sweden? Passion, Patriotism, and hard work. Ericsson, SAAB, Volvo, SAS. All these brands are synonymous with Sweden, a beautiful country with less than ten million inhabitants, who live in a welfare state which is part of the European Union, but not of the Currency Union.
Sweden is part of a region known for the best social care and education systems, women’ and children’ rights. It also extremely cares for the rights of its human resource as well as the environment.  Sweden, however, does not look inwards only; it maintains presence of some 360 soldiers in Afghanistan, but is not part of NATO, unlike Norway, which is a NATO partner, but stays outside the European Union. The suburbs of the capital Stockholm speak of the Swedish hard work and intellect; the road from the Arlanda airport to the city is dotted with offices, factories and service centres of computer, automobile, cellphone industry and an array of hi-tech related infrastructure.
Stockholm is also known for the Nobel Prize, the International Peace Institute (SIPRI). In Stockholm itself, the Vasa museum stands out as a remarkable tribute to the passion of the Swedes; the tailor-made museum houses Vasa, a 17th century war ship, that took years to build, but just 20 minutes to go down off the Stockholm harbour.

When the Vasa set sail in 1628, it figured among the mightiest warships in the world, and unparalleled in Scandinavia. With 64 guns and 300 soldiers, Vasa was meant to sow fear in the hearts of the enemy.  At the same time, the ship was a beautiful piece of art – put together with Japanese oak wood, with the help of artisans and skilled workers from as far as Germany, who produced a majestic piece of art to float in the Nordic seas for combat operations. Vasa was an art treasure explained through the roughly 700 sculptures and ornaments that decorated the exterior and interior of the warship.  Strong, clear colours, in some places supplemented with gilding, were characteristic of the Vasa’s colouring. 

The Vasa set sail with a gun salute. But only after a few minutes of sailing, the ship began to keel over. Water started to gush in through the open gunports, and the glorious and mighty warship suddenly sank most probably because of a top heavier and disproportionate to the bottom.
Shipwreck-specialist Anders Franzén finally found the Vasa in 1956. He quickly found royal support for the idea of salvaging the ship and on April 24, 1961, Franzén’s zeal and passion paid off; that day the wreck of the ship broke the surface of Stockholm’s harbour after resting on the sea bottom for 333 years. The event was watched by tens of thousands of Swedes on the spot as well as on tv screens. Life in Sweden seemed to have come to a standstill, locals recall. Press, radio and tv from all over the world were there. Swedish television broadcast live - something very unusual at the time. Schoolchildren played truant and the industries stopped working. It was calm even at the maternity hospitals, a surprised nurse told the press.
The Vasa had been located 30 metres beneath the surface. Swedish Navy's divers had dived down to the ship; they managed to flush six tunnels in the mud beneath it, using specially made nozzles. Steel cables were drawn through the tunnels. Two lifting pontoons on the surface were to lift the ship using cables.

In 1962, the temporary Vasa Museum - the Wasavarvet - opened. The ship and all the finds were preserved - an effort of gigantic proportions because Vasa is the biggest single object that has ever been preserved. A chemical substance called polyethylenglycol (PEG) was used. It replaces water in wooden objects to prevent them from shrinking when dried.
In 1990, the new Vasa Museum was inaugurated, a living tribute to the passion of Anders Franzen and the support he got from authorities.

Some locals describe the resurrection of Vasa as an “epitome of Swedes’ arrogance.” But for most visitors, the ship does evoke a sense of amusement and appreciation for the spirit i.e. the craving to take care of the cultural and historical heritage, something that sits down the priorities in countries like Pakistan, where heritage ranks high in official rhetoric but very low in actions. A number of historical and cultural landmarks between Karachi and Khyber are largely in a state of disrepair and negligence.

Whether Vasa in Stockholm, small volcanic ash stone sites in a remote German village, Meyen, or the Mosque in Cordova, Spain, they are all living examples of how the Europeans have preserved their history, and continue to maintain them for the simple reason that such endeavours do serve not only as a reminder of the history, but also offer additional sources of sight-seeing, and thereby generating money that goes into the upkeep of such sites.