Henrik Hybertsson (or Hendrik Hubertsen) (died 1627) was a Dutch-born master

shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

working in the

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

navy yard in the early 17th century. He is mostly known for being the designer and constructor of the warship '' Vasa'', which sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 and is now on display at the

Vasa Museum The Vasa Museum () is a maritime museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Located on the island of Djurgården, the museum displays the only almost fully intact 17th-century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship '' Vasa'' that sank on her maid ...

. Henrik came from the town of

Rijswijk Rijswijk (), formerly known as Ryswick ( ) in English, is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was 59.642 in 2024, and it has an area of , of which is water. The municipality also i ...

, near

Den Haag The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in South Holland, and for a time in the 1590s was listed as a merchant in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, before moving to Sweden at the beginning of the 17th century. Henrik was hired by the Swedish King

Karl IX Charles IX, also Carl (; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I () and of his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King Eric XIV and of K ...

, at a time when the

Royal Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

was expanding rapidly. He worked in

between 1603-1605 and again between 1611-1627. In between he was stationed at various

shipyards A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involved ...

in the country. After his return to Stockholm in 1611, he developed an association with the entrepreneur Anton Monier, who had leased the Crown's navy yard in 1620 under a new type of procurement contract, in which private businessmen took on the government's former role in producing war material. In 1621, Monier took Master Henrik into partnership. During autumn 1624, as Monier's contract was running out, Admiral of the Realm

Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm Baron Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm (4 March 1574 – 17 March 1650) was a Swedish soldier and politician. He was made a baron (''friherre'') in 1615, appointed Field Marshal in 1616, Privy Councilor in 1617, Governor General of Ingria in 1617 ...

, Vice Admiral

Clas Larsson Fleming Clas Larsson Fleming (March 1592 – 27 July 1644) was a Swedish naval officer and nobleman involved in the development of a formal management structure for the Swedish Navy during the reigns of King Gustavus Adolphus and Christina, Queen of Swed ...

and Henrik Hybertsson began negotiating the terms of a four-year contract for maintenance and construction for the Swedish Navy. In December 1624. Henrik signed a preliminary version of this with the admiralty, and in January 1625 Henrik and another Dutch entrepreneur, Arent de Groote, signed the final version with King

Gustav II Adolf Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...

. They would build four ships, two larger and two smaller, maintain existing ships, and manage the navy yard from January 1626 through the end of 1629. '' Vasa'', laid down in February–March 1626 and launched in 1627, was the first of the large ships to be built under this contract. The other large ship, Äpplet, was laid down in 1627 and entered service in 1629. Neither of the smaller ships was built before the Crown cancelled all of its external contracts in the winter of 1628-29. After Henrik Hybertsson's death in the late spring of 1627, his widow, Margareta Hybertsson, Margareta Nilsdotter (d. 1630), inherited responsibility for completion of the contract, but while she was an accomplished businesswoman in her own right and had responsibility for the management of the rural estates which provided part of the family's income, she was not a shipbuilder. After a brief period of turbulence, the Crown appointed its representative in the navy yard, Captain Söfring Hansson, to manage the yard. Henrik was survived by his wife, who was forced to sell some of their holdings in order to pay debts, and at least one son and two daughters, Margareta and Kristina.

References

* Cederlund, Carl Olof ''Folket som byggde Wasa'' * Cederlund, Carl Olof ''Vasa I: A Swedish Warship of 1628'' * Hocker, Fred ''Vasa, A Swedish Warship'' * ''Den Ointroducerade Svenska Adelns Ättartavlor'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hybertsson, Henrik 1627 deaths Dutch shipbuilders Swedish shipbuilders Year of birth unknown People from Rijswijk 17th-century Swedish businesspeople 17th-century shipbuilders