Ribe () is a Danish town in south-west Jutland, with a population of 8,287 (2021).BY3: Population 1.
January by urban areas, area and population density The Mobile Statbank from Statistics Denmark It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe covering southwestern Jutland.
Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding municipality, and county.
It is now part of the enlarged Esbjerg Municipality in the Region of Southern Denmark.
Ribe is the oldest extant town in Denmark and in Scandinavia, established in the early eighth century in the Germanic Iron Age.
History
Established in the first decade of the eighth centuryThe New Cambridge Medieval History.
1995.
Page 205 and first attested in a document dated 854; Ribe is the oldest extant town in Denmark - and all of Scandinavia.
The town celebrated its 1300th anniversary in 2010.
When Ansgar the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, set out on the "Mission to bring Christianity to the North", he made a request in about 860, to King Horik II of Denmark, that the first Scandinavian church be built in Ribe.
This was not coincidental, since Ribe already at that point was one of the most important trade cities in Scandinavia.
However the presence of a bishop, and thus a cathedral, in Ribe can only be confirmed from the year 948.
Recent archaeological excavations in Ribe have however 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.
The town has many well-preserved old buildings, like the Viking center in the south of Ribe,https://www.ribevikingecenter.dk/en/home.aspx and about 110 houses are under Heritage Protection.
Denmark's oldest governmental building The old town hall is found on the town's Von Støckens Plads.
The building was erected in 1496, and was purchased by the city for use as a town hall in 1709.
Timeline
Early eighth century, founding of Ribe.
Ribe flourished during the early medieval period as an important trading centre, or emporium, primarily connecting Western Europe and Scandinavia.
The Ribe Cathedral started to be built in 1150 under the current bishops reign, which was built on top of an earlier church, most probably Ansgar's Church, built in 860.Medieval Sourcebook: Rimbert: Life of Anskar, the Apostle of the North, 801–865: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/anskar.asp
thumb|Street in Ribe
The Treaty of Ribe was proclaimed in 1460.
3 September 1580: a great fire destroys a large part of the town.
11 streets and 213 houses burn down.
11–12 October 1634: a storm tide floods the city with waterlevels rising to 6.1 meters above average.
1 January 2007: the Municipality of Ribe ceased to exist as it merged with the municipalities of Esbjerg and Bramming, now forming a new municipality of Esbjerg.
4 June 2010: residents celebrated the city's 1300th anniversary with a town-wide party.Celebration site
Cultural and environmental features
There are numerous cultural and environmental features of Ribe.
Among the cultural highlights are notable churches and museums.
The flora and fauna, while depleted in large part from the man-made development and surrounding agricultural land conversion, retain notable aspects of the natural environment.
The Ribe River flows through townTom Buk-Swienty.
2008 and hosts certain elements of riparian habitat.
thumb|right|200px|Ribe stork Certain notable birdlife is found in and near the town; the European white stork, Ciconia ciconia, is one of the historic inhabitants of the town, choosing to build nests atop chimneys.
This bird has steadily declined in population throughout Western Europe due to agricultural land conversion as well as droughts in its wintering range in Africa.C. Michael Hogan.
2009
The following list some of the specific town features:
right|thumb|200px|Ribe Cathedral
Churches
Ribe Cathedral (Ribe Domkirke)   —  The bells of Ribe Cathedral  playing the folk song about Queen Dagmar called Dronning Dagmar ligger i Ribe syg ("Queen Dagmar lies in Ribe sick").
Saint Catharinæ Church and Monastery.
Museums
Ribe Viking Museum   Ribe Viking Museum retrieved 23 March 2018 (Museet Ribes Vikinger)
Ribe Art Museum  Ribe Art Museum retrieved 23 March 2018 (Ribe Kunstmuseum)
Ribe Viking Centre    Ribe Vikinge Center retrieved 23 March 2018 (Ribe Vikingecenter)
Denmark's oldest province museum (Antikvarisk Samling)
The Night Watchman in Ribe .
Every evening from 1 May until 15 September you may accompany the night watchman in Ribe on his route through the old town, while he is singing to alert citizens about bedtime approaching.
Wadden Sea Center   Wadden Sea Centre retrieved 23 March 2018 (Vadehavscentret)
Mandø Mill (Mandø Mølle)
The Mandø House (Mandøhuset)
Mandø Island nature reserve, about  southwest
Notable people
thumb|140px|Anders Bording, 1645 thumb|140px|Rued Langgaard, 1917 thumb|140px|HK Nielsen, 2012 The Arts
Anders Bording (1619–1677) poet, noted for his epigrams, ballads and epistles
Kristen Feilberg (1839 in Vester Vedsted – 1919) a Danish photographer of the peoples and landscapes of Sumatra and Singapore
Jacob Riis (1849–1914) an American immigrant photographer, wrote How the Other Half Lives, a pioneering work of photojournalism
Bodil Hauschildt (1861–1951) an early Danish photographer, ran her own studio in Ribe from 1880
J. Bodewalt Lampe (1869–1929) American composer, arranger, performer and band leader of ragtime and syncopated dance music
Jens Olsen (1872–1945) a clockmaker and locksmith, built the clock at Copenhagen City Hall
Astrid Noack (1888–1954) a Danish sculptor who specialized in the human figure
Rued Langgaard (1893–1952) a late-Romantic, unrecognised composer, organist at Ribe Cathedral
Kjeld Abell (1901–1961) a Danish playwright, screenwriter and theatrical designer
Børge Ring (1921–2018) a Danish animated short film writer, director and animator  IMDb Database retrieved 21 April 2020
Annemette Kure Andersen (born 1969) is a Danish symbolist poet and literary editor
Per Vers (born 1976), Danish rapper, graduated from Ribe Katedralskole
Public thinking
Hans Tausen (1494–1561) protagonist of the Reformation in Denmark,  Bishop of Ribe 1542–1562.
Peder Palladius (1503–1560) a Danish theologian, priest and bishop
Maren Spliid (c.1600–1641) was burned alive at Gallows Hill, Ribe, victim of the persecution of witches.
Hans Schack, 2nd Count of Schackenborg (1676 in Ribe – 1719) a Danish nobleman and enfeoffed count
Hans Adolf Brorson (1694–1764) Danish Pietist clergyman and hymn writer
Friderich Christian Hager (1756–1795) a colonial commander and governor of the Danish Gold Coast
Elisabeth Dons Christensen (born 1944) a Lutheran theologian, bishop of the Diocese of Ribe 2003–2014
Holger K. Nielsen (born 1950) former leader of the Socialist People's Party, graduated from Ribe Katedralskole in 1969
Science & Business
Vibeke Jensdatter (1638–1709) a successful Danish merchant
Emil Christian Hansen (1842–1909) Mycologist, the father of Modern Brewing; at the Carlsberg Laboratories, he discovered that yeast was composed of different fungi and could be cultivated
Jens Rasmussen (1926–2018) was a system safety and human factors professor
Erik Hansen  (1927–2016) Professor Emeritus, Architect in Building Preservation and author
Sport
John Lauridsen (born 1959) retired footballer, over 400 pro appearances mainly for Espanyol
Martin Rauschenberg (born 1992) a pro footballer, plays for IF Brommapojkarna in Sweden
Mikael Uhre (born 1994) a Danish footballer, plays as a forward for SønderjyskE Fodbold
Official Honorary Citizens
The following have been declared Honorary Citizens of Ribe: (By year)
(1911) Stiftsfysikus – J.J. Kiær
(1934) Town Archivist – C.N. Termansen
(1946) Editor – C. Willemoes
(2005) Chairman of the Ny Carlsbergfondet – H.E. Nørregård-Nielsen
Education
The town of Ribe has a long history as a center of learning.
The cathedral school of 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.
The school provided religious education of priests and clergymen up until 1805 and is nowadays a gymnasium (Danish high school).
Ribe Katedralskole celebrated its 850th anniversary in 1995, and is the oldest continuously existing school in Scandinavia.
Schools
Ribe Katedralskole.http://www.ribekatedralskole.dk
The State College of Education in Ribe (Teacher Training College),http://www.ribesem.dk part of The University College of West Jutland.http://cvu-vest.dk
Ribe Business College.http://www.ribehs.dk
VUC (Adult Education Center).http://www.vuc-ribeamt.dk
Demographics
The following table shows the population of Ribe.
Data from before the eighteenth century are estimates, the rest are taken from the official census.
Industry
Dancakehttp://www.dancake.dk/ has a factory in Ribe.
Twin cities and towns
(alphabetic list)
See also
Dankirke
References
Sources
C. Michael Hogan.
2009.
European White Stork: Ciconia ciconia, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
The New Cambridge Medieval History.
Cambridge University Press, 1995. .
Tom Buk-Swienty.
2008.
The Other Half: The Life of Jacob Riis and the World of Immigrant America, 331 pages
s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Ancient See of Ribe in Denmark (Jutland)
https://www.ribevikingecenter.dk/en/home.aspx https://www.vadehavskysten.com/ribe-esbjerg-fano/ribe-esbjerg-fano/old-town-hall-ribe-gdk610602 External links
Official Tourism website
Satellite Picture by Google Maps
