Ribe () is a town in south-west

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

, Denmark, with a population of 8,367 (2025). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. It is now part of the enlarged Esbjerg Municipality in the

Region of Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark (, ; , ; ) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regions ...

. It is the oldest town in Denmark.

History

The town was a center of commercial activity in the early 8th century, and this may have originated with royal influence. Coins may have been struck there in 720. Whichever king was involved in the digging of the Kanhave Canal may have been involved in the establishment of Ribe also. Trade contacts were mostly with

Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...

and England. Of the over 300 sceatas found in Denmark, 216 come from in or around Ribe, most of them were of the Frisian Wodan type, and these were likely minted in Ribe in the early eighth century. The Ancient Diocese of Ribe was established in 948 with the consecration of Leofdag of Ribe as its first bishop. Early in the ninth century a 2-meter wide ditch (a demarcation rather than a fortification) was dug around the town, enclosing a 12-hectare area. Later that century the ditch was replaced by a moat, 6 to 7 meters wide. Archeological evidence shows Ribe was "an active and impressive market place" in the eighth and ninth centuries, and again at the end of the eleventh century, but there is little evidence from the period in between; the town may have dwindled or even disappeared. When archbishop

Ansgar Ansgar (8 September 801 – 3 February 865), also known as Anskar, Saint Ansgar, Saint Anschar or Oscar, was Archbishopric of Bremen, Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in the northern part of the Kingdom of the East Franks. Ansgar became known as the ...

set out to christianize Scandinavia, he requested (in about 860) of King Horik II of Denmark that the first Scandinavian church be built in Ribe, which at the time was one of the most important trade cities in Scandinavia. However, the presence in Ribe of a bishop, and thus a cathedral, can only be confirmed from the year 948. Recent archaeological excavations in Ribe, however, have led to the discovery of between 2,000 and 3,000 Christian graves. They have been dated to the ninth century, indicating that a large Christian community was already living peacefully together with the Vikings at the time. Excavations conducted between 2008 and 2012 have also revealed more details of the original church built by Ansgar. Construction on the Ribe Cathedral started in 1150, on top of an earlier church, most probably

's church, built in 860. The Treaty of Ribe was proclaimed in 1460. Being located in a large region of low-lying marshland, Ribe has repeatedly been hit by storm floods, the most devastating being the Burchardi flood of 1634. The marks after this flood can still be seen on the cathedral's walls and is also marked as the top point on a flood pillar in the town. The Catholic diocese was dissolved in 1536 during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

; it was succeeded by the Diocese of Ribe, governed by the newly established protestant Church of Denmark. On 1 January 2007, the Municipality of Ribe ceased to exist as it merged with the municipalities of

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport city and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban area, urban population of 71,554 (1 January ...

and Bramming, now forming the new municipality of Esbjerg.

Demographics

The following table shows the population of Ribe. Data from before the 18th century are estimates, the rest are taken from the official census.

Notable sites

* Ribe Cathedral * Ribe Kunstmuseum - an art museum * Riberhus - a castle (only some ruins remain, along with the water moat) likely built by Eric V of Denmark in the 1200s * Wadden Sea Centre - a museum and visitors center for the Wadden Sea National Park, located a few km outside Ribe

Education

The town of Ribe has a long history as a center of learning. The

cathedral school Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools. Some of these ...

( Ribe Katedralskole) has its roots in the Latin School of Ribe, dating back to at least 1145, when the bishop officially handed over the chapter's school.

Schools

* Ribe Katedralskole * The State College of Education in Ribe (Teacher Training College), part of the University College of West Jutland * Ribe Business College * VUC (Adult Education Center)

Transport

Ribe is served by Ribe railway station, located on the Bramming–Tønder railway line. The northern part of the town is also served by the railway halt Ribe Nørremark. Ribe is located near the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...

coastline and within reach of the north sea port

Notable people

The arts

* Anders Bording (1619–1677), poet * Christine Daugaard (1831–1917), Danish writer and poet * Kristen Feilberg (1839 in Vester Vedsted – 1919), photographer of the peoples and landscapes of Sumatra and Singapore * Jacob Riis (1849–1914), an American immigrant photographer, wrote '' How the Other Half Lives'' * Bodil Hauschildt (1861–1951), photographer * J. Bodewalt Lampe (1869–1929), American composer, arranger, performer * Jens Olsen (1872–1945), a clockmaker and locksmith * Astrid Noack (1888–1954), a Danish sculptor * Rued Langgaard (1893–1952) a late-Romantic composer and organist at Ribe Cathedral * Kjeld Abell (1901–1961), playwright, screenwriter and theatrical designer * Børge Ring (1921–2018), animated short film writer, director and animator * Annemette Kure Andersen (born 1969), poet and literary editor * Per Vers (born 1976), rapper

Politicians, clergy, and officials

* Valdemar II of Denmark (1170–1241), King of Denmark * Hans Tausen (1494–1561), leader of the Reformation in Denmark,

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of Ribe 1542–1562. * Peder Palladius (1503–1560), theologian, priest and bishop * Maren Spliid (c.1600–1641), victim of the persecution of witches * Hans Schack, 2nd Count of Schackenborg (1676 in Ribe – 1719), nobleman * Hans Adolf Brorson (1694–1764), Danish Pietist clergyman and hymn writer * Friderich Christian Hager (1756–1795), colonial commander and governor of the Danish Gold Coast * Christian Nielsen Lund (1846–1921), Mormon pioneer and Utah Territorial Legislature member * Elisabeth Dons Christensen (born 1944), theologian, bishop of the Diocese of Ribe 2003–2014 * Holger K. Nielsen (born 1950), former leader of the Socialist People's Party

Science and business

* Vibeke Jensdatter (1638–1709), merchant * Emil Christian Hansen (1842–1909), brewmaster and mycologist * Cathrine Horsbøl (1872–1947), furniture designer * Jens Rasmussen (1926–2018), professor * Erik Hansen (1927–2016), architect

Sport

* John Lauridsen (born 1959), footballer * Martin Rauschenberg (born 1992), footballer * Mikael Uhre (born 1994), footballer

Twin cities and towns

References

Sources

* ''The New Cambridge Medieval History''. Cambridge University Press, 1995. . * s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Ancient See of Ribe in Denmark (Jutland)

External links

Official Tourism website
{{Authority control 700s establishments Populated places established in the 8th century Cities and towns in the Region of Southern Denmark Viking Age populated places Esbjerg Municipality 8th-century establishments in Europe