Maribo is a town in Lolland Municipality in

Region Sjælland Region Zealand () is an administrative region of Denmark. It is one of the five classified NUTS-2 statistical regions of Denmark. It was established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional ...

on the island of

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...

in south

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. It was the municipal seat of the former Maribo Municipality, until 1 January 2007, and then it became the seat of the current Lolland Municipality. The merchant town of Maribo is located centrally on Lolland. Its population is 5,786 (1 January 2025).BY3: Population 1. January by rural and urban areas, area and population density
The Mobile Statbank from

Statistics Denmark Statistics Denmark () is a Danish governmental organization under the Ministry of the Interior and Housing, reporting to the Minister of Economic and Internal Affairs. The organization is responsible for creating statistics on the Danish society ...

It has, among other facilities, a gymnasium (

Secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

), a public international school, an

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

and a

cultural heritage museum A heritage centre, center, or museum, is a public facility – typically a museum, monument, visitor centre, or park – that is primarily dedicated to the presentation of historical and cultural information about a place and its people, and oft ...

. A brewery, "

Maribo Bryghus Maribo Bryghus was a Danish brewery located in the town of Maribo. The brewery was founded in 1895 by Christian Jørgensen as Thor Brewery (''Thor Bryggeri''). It was renamed ten years later to avoid confusion with the Thor Brewery in Randers. ...

" used to be located in the town, but it was closed down in 2008 by its owner, Unibrew. Beer labeled "Maribo Øl" is still available, but it is brewed elsewhere.

Surroundings

Maribo is surrounded by ''Nørresø'' ("The Northern Lake" or "Northern Maribo Lake") to the north and ''Søndersø'' ("The Southern Lake" or "Southern Maribo Lake") to the south. ''Søndersø'' is, with an area of 852

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

, the largest lake on Lolland. There are more islands in ''Søndersø'' than in any other lake in Denmark. These include the islands of Fruerø, Hestø, Præstø, Borgø, Lindø, Askø and Worsaaes. This is part of the Maribo Lakes Nature Park, which spans the towns of Maribo,

Holeby Holeby is a small town in Lolland Municipality, in Region Zealand, Denmark. It was the seat of Holeby Municipality. Holeby is located 6 kilometers north of the planned Lolland South railway station, set to open in 2028 on the line to Germany vi ...

Sakskøbing Sakskøbing (), previously spelled Sakskjøbing, is a town on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. It has a population of 4,514 (1 January 2025).Nysted Nysted is a town in Guldborgsund Municipality in Region Zealand on the southeastern coast of the island of Lolland in south Denmark. Nysted is located on the southern coast of Lolland, and has a population of 1,265 (1 January 2024).

Saint Birgitta Bridget of Sweden, OSsS ( – 23 July 1374), also known as Birgitta Birgersdotter and Birgitta of Vadstena (), was a Swedish Catholic mystic and the founder of the Bridgettines. Outside Sweden, she was also known as the Princess of Nericia ...

(1303–1373), also known as Birgitta of Vadstena, has cast her shadow on this municipality, and is shown on the municipality's coat-of-arms. Her order established the

Bridgettine Order The Bridgettines, or Birgittines, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Saviour (; abbreviated OSsS), is a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church founded by Saint Birgitta (Bridget of Sweden) in 1344 and approved by Pope Urban V ...

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

in Maribo, when 1416 monks from Vadstena Abbey were sent to Maribo, then called Skimminge, to help establish a monastery. In 1536, however, the abbey was abolished and transformed into a convent for noble virgins in 1556. After the old town church burned down in 1596, the abbey church then in place received status as town church. King

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history. A member of the H ...

's daughter,

Leonora Christina Ulfeldt Leonora Christina, Countess Ulfeldt, born "Countess Leonora Christina Christiansdatter" til Slesvig og Holsten (8 July 1621 – 16 March 1698), was the daughter of King Christian IV of Denmark and wife of the Steward of the Realm, the traitor ...

, was probably the abbey's most famous resident. In 1685 after her release from 21 years imprisonment for high treason from the Blue Tower (''

Blåtårn Blåtårn (in English: ''Blue Tower'') was a tower in Copenhagen Castle, the Danish royal family's palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. The tower was used as a dungeon and has been known as such in history. It is not known when the tower was built, but ...

'') in Copenhagen's Castle, she spent her final years in the then already dilapidated abbey, and was buried in a crypt at the church, until her body was removed shortly after the burial. In 1803-1804 the islands of

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

, which previously belonged to the

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

, were made into an independent diocese, and the abbey church was given the status of the diocese's cathedral (''domkirke'') now known as

Maribo Cathedral Maribo Cathedral () is a Lutheran cathedral church built in the Gothic style in Maribo on the island of Lolland in the southeast of Denmark. It was originally part of Maribo Abbey which was founded in the early 15th century. The chancel, the old ...

. The bishop, however, resides in

Nykøbing Falster Nykøbing Falster (; originally named Nykøbing) is a city on the island of Falster in southern Denmark. It has a population of 16,682 (1 January 2025). Including the satellite town Sundby (Lolland), Sundby on the Lolland side, with a populatio ...

. Several times during the 1800s the church has been secured against decline.

Transport and Infrastructure

Lollandsbanen-lj-bahnhof-maribo-am-836574

The town is served by

Maribo railway station Maribo is a town in Lolland Municipality in Region Zealand, Region Sjælland on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. It was the municipal seat of the former Maribo Municipality, until 1 January 2007, and then it became the seat of the cur ...

, located at

Lollandsbanen The Lolland Line () is a long railway line in Denmark which runs mostly on the island of Lolland between the cities of Nykøbing Falster and Nakskov via Maribo. The railway line opened in 1874. It is currently operated by the regional railway c ...

, a railway line between and , which is operated by the railway company Lokaltog A/S since 2015. Lolland Falster Airport is located south of Maribo between the towns of Holeby and Rødby.Lolland Falster airport
VisitLollandFalster

Maribo Municipality

Until 1 January 2007, Maribo was also a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in the former

Storstrøm County Storstrøm County () is a former county ( Danish: '' amt'') on the islands of Zealand (''Sjælland''), Møn, Falster, Lolland and some minor islands in southeast Denmark. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of Mar ...

. The municipality, which included the islands of

Askø Askø is a Danish island north of Lolland. It covers an area of 2.82 km2 and has 55 permanent inhabitants (as of 1 January 2005) as well as hundreds of summer vacation properties. It is connected to the neighbouring island of Lilleø by a 70 ...

("Ash Island") and

Lilleø Lilleø is an island located off the coast of Lolland, Denmark. Since the 1930s, a number of farms growing fruit have been located on the island. It has a unique microclimate giving the fruit a taste which has been described as "intense". The isl ...

("little Island") in the Rågø Sound, covered an area of 154 km², and had a total population of 11,098 (2005). Its last mayor was Liljan Køcks, a member of the Socialist People's Party (''Socialistisk Folkeparti'')

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

. Maribo Municipality ceased to exist as the result of ''Kommunalreformen'' ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007). It was merged with

Højreby Until 1 January 2007 Højreby was a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') on the island of Lolland in Storstrøm County in south Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 128 km², and had a total population of 4,049 (2005). Its last mayor was ...

Nakskov Nakskov is a market town on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. The town has a population of 12,200 (1 January 2025) and is the largest town on the island of Lolland. It is located in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland. Nakskov is situ ...

Ravnsborg Until 1 January 2007 Ravnsborg was a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') on the northwest coast of the island of Lolland in the former Storstrøm County in south Denmark. The municipality, including the islands of Fejø and Femø, covered an area o ...

Rudbjerg Until 1 January 2007 Rudbjerg was a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') on the southwest coast of the island of Lolland in the former Storstrøm County, southern Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 143 km², and had a total populatio ...

and

Rødby Rødby is a town located on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. It has a population of 1,957 (1 January 2024).Lolland Municipality. This created a municipality with an area of 892 km² and a total population of 49,469 (2005).

Notable people

* Peder Bergenhammer Sørensen (1914 in Maribo – executed 1944) a member of the Danish resistance *

Hanne Budtz Olga Johanne Budtz (21 September 1915 – 5 March 2004) was a Danish Conservative People's Party politician and lawyer who served as an elected member of the Folketing from 1953 to 1973. She worked as an assistant solicitor at Nykøbing Falster b ...

(1915 - 2004) a lawyer and politician for the Conservative People's Party *

Marianne Gaarden Marianne Gaarden (born 4 February 1964) is a Danish prelate who is the 21st and current Bishop of Lolland-Falster. Biography Gaarden is from Brønderslev, where she became a student at Brønderslev School in 1983. She subsequently went to Barce ...

(born 1964) a Danish prelate, installed in 2017 as Bishop of Lolland–Falster in Maribo Cathedral * Simon Nagel (born 1985 in Maribo) a Danish professional football midfielder with 300 club caps * Peter Tom-Petersen (1861–1926) a Danish painter and graphic artist, went to school in Maribo * Jørgen Wichfeld (1729 at

Engestofte Engestofte is a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical manor house located 6 km (4 mi) east of Maribo, Lolland Municipality, on the island of Lolland in southeastern Denmark. History and architecture Early history The estate was firs ...

– 1797) a landowner, industrialist and district judge *

Monica Wichfeld Monica Emily Wichfeld (''née'' Massy-Beresford; 12 July 1894 – 27 February 1945) was a leading member of the Danish resistance during the German occupation of Denmark in the Second World War. She was the first woman in Denmark to receive a cap ...

(1894–1945) a leading member of the Danish resistance during the German occupation of Denmark in WWII, lived on the

Estate in Maribo *

Richard Winther Richard Ludvig Philip Weibull Winther (July 23, 1926, Maribo, Denmark–August 30, 2007, Denmark) was a Danish artist. He focused on painting, graphics, photography and sculpture. Richard's work was influenced by Asger Jorn and Richard Mortensen ...

(1926 in Maribo - 2007) a Danish artist focused mainly on painting, graphics, photography and sculpture

External links

*
Lolland municipality's official website (Danish only)

Weather forecast Maribo, Denmark
weather-atlas.com

References