Most visited shipwreck museum

The world's most visited museum dedicated to a single shipwreck is currently the Vasamuseet in Stockholm, Sweden, housing the 17th-century warship that sunk only 1.3 km (0.8 mi) into its maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. The museum receives between 1 million and 1.5 million visitors in a typical year, the latter achieved in 2019 and a record high. It opened in 1989 and was officially inaugurated by King Carl XVI Gustaf on 15 June 1990.

As of 2022, almost 43 million people have viewed the Vasa since it was raised from the bottom of Stockholm Harbour on 24 April 1961. For its first 27 years, it was housed at the Wasavarvet Museum.

The popularity of this shipwreck is largely down to its incredible condition and lavish, ornate carvings. Despite being nearly 400 years old, approximately 98% of the wreck's wooden structure was intact when it was lifted from the sea. Its remarkable condition is the result of the cold, brackish waters of the Baltic Sea where it sank (a habitat unsuited to shipworm), as well as shelter from rough seas afforded by the harbour.

Another very popular shipwreck exhibition, the Mary Rose Museum (opened in 2016) in Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK, exhibiting the iconic Tudor warship of King Henry VIII, welcomed 438,376 visitors in 2021, but pre-pandemic numbers could reach up to 850,000 (2017) per year. Also in 2017, the Mary Rose Trust celebrated the wreck receiving its 10 millionth visitor since it was salvaged in 1982.