The Wreck of Gribshunden at Stora Ekön

Blekinge · Sweden · Natural site

The king made it ashore. One hundred and fifty men did not. They are still down there at ten metres, under a monster with a human head in its jaws.

In the summer of 1495 the Danish king Hans's flagship Gribshunden lay anchored off Stora Ekön in the Ronneby archipelago, bound for a decisive political meeting in Kalmar. Fire broke out on board, reached the powder, and the ship exploded and sank. The king was ashore and survived. Contemporary chronicles record that around one hundred and fifty of the crew perished. The wreck still lies at about ten metres' depth north of the island and is reckoned the world's best-preserved late medieval carrack. Divers found it in the 1960s and 70s; later investigations have raised cannon, ship timber felled in 1482 in north-eastern France, and – most telling of all – a three-and-a-half-metre figurehead of a snarling beast with a human head in its mouth.

FAQ

Where is The Wreck of Gribshunden at Stora Ekön located?

The Wreck of Gribshunden at Stora Ekön is in Blekinge, Sweden.