Bad omen? Valentines tie the knot at Vasa shipwreck

Marriage: a disaster waiting to happen or a historic odyssey? Couples tied the knot Tuesday in front of Sweden's 17th century royal warship Vasa that sank on its maiden voyage.

The resplendent vessel, a national treasure housed in a museum in central Stockholm, is one of Sweden's biggest failures, sailing for just 15 minutes before sinking pitifully in the Stockholm harbour due to faulty construction design.

But several couples who showed up for the museum's Valentine's Day drop-in wedding offer didn't see the disaster as a bad omen as they embarked on their new journey together.

"It's a unique place and a fun setting for a wedding I think", Bizzy Klein, a 28-year-old project manager who exchanged rings with her fiance Robert Djurberg, told AFP.

The museum had put out large bouquets of flowers and candles for the occasion.

"I follow them on Facebook and I saw they were doing this drop-in thing today on Valentine's Day", Klein said.

"We just thought that a big, traditional wedding is not for us, but this is the perfect set-up. To get married here, just the two of us", she said, ditching the traditional white dress for casual trousers and a shirt.

Museum guide Hans-Lennart Ohlsson served as officiant.

"Museums are a place to meet history. And when you are getting into marriage you are creating a new part of your history. It's a very good place to look back into history and then look forward to a new marriage", he said.

The Vasa, whose 1628 sinking claimed the lives of around 30 people, was also home to love stories, he said.

"Many people lost their loves inside this ship. So (to get married in front of the ship) is also a sign of love you could say".

Meant to be the crown jewel of the Swedish navy when it was built, the Vasa was raised nearly intact in 1961 off the Baltic sea bed.

Well preserved for more than 300 years by Stockholm's cold, brackish waters, it is now housed in a special museum built over an old dry dock.

Opened in 1990, Vasa Museum is one of Sweden's most visited attractions. 

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© Agence France-Presse

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