Riksäpplet, 17th century warship wreck near Dalarö, Sweden.
Riksäpplet is a 17th-century warship that rests at approximately 15 meters depth near Aspön in the Stockholm archipelago. The wooden hull and scattered artifacts remain on the seabed, creating an underwater archaeological site that reflects the ship's original size and structure.
The ship was built in 1661 at the Gamla Varvet shipyard in Gothenburg and launched as a heavily armed 47-meter vessel. During a storm in June 1676, it sank near Dalarö fortress in the Stockholm archipelago.
The ship's name means 'the apple' in Swedish, and the wreck site is known as Äpplet after it. The Swedish Navy's official designation was HM Realskepp Riksäpplet. The name links the sunken warship to the everyday geography of the Dalarö area.
The wreck lies at 15 metres depth just south of Aspön, near the Dalarö fortress in the Stockholm archipelago. Divers reach the site by boat from Dalarö harbour; non-divers can view recovered sculptures at the Maritime Museum in Stockholm. The hull has deteriorated through salvage work since the sinking, so the site is best visited with an organised dive.
Black oak timber salvaged from the wreck through controlled blasting in 1868 was later repurposed to construct gates for Stockholm City Hall. This wood created an unexpected link between the sunken ship and one of the city's most recognizable buildings.
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