Ribe
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- This article is about the town of Ribe in Denmark. For other uses, see Ribe (disambiguation).
Ribe (German: Ripen) is the name of the oldest town of Denmark. It is also the name of the surrounding Municipality, and County Image:Ribe.jpg
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[edit] History of Ribe
Image:Raadhuset i Ribe.jpg Established in the first decade of the 8th century<ref>The New Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge University Press, 1995. ISBN 052136292X. Page 205</ref> and first attested in a document dating from 854, Ribe is the oldest town in Denmark.
When Ansgar the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, set out on the "Mission to bring Christianity to the North", he made a request in 860 to the King of Denmark, that the first Scandinavian church be built in Ribe. This was not coincidental, since Ribe already at that point, was the most important trade city of Scandinavia. However we can only confirm the presence of a bishop and thus a cathedral in Ribe from the year 948.
The town has many well-preserved old buildings, of which ca. 110 houses are under Heritage Protection. Denmark's oldest 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.
[edit] Selected Dates in the History of Ribe
- early 8th century, Ribe is founded.
- The Treaty of Ribe was proclaimed in 1460.
- 1580, 3. September: A great fire destroys a large part of the town. 11 streets and a total of 213 houses burn down.
- 1634, 11.-12. October: A storm tide floods the city with waterlevels rising to 6.1 Meters above average.
- 2007, The Municipality of Ribe will cease to exists as it is merged with the Municipalities of Esbjerg and Bramming to form a new Esbjerg municipality.
[edit] Ecclesiastical history
The former Roman Catholic diocese (29 deaneries, 278 parishes) consisted of the modern Danish Provinces of Ribe, Vejle and Ringkjöbing, and part of North Schleswig. The first church built at Ribe was founded by St. Ansgar in 860, served by his biographer and successor, St. Rembert, and destroyed during the heathen reaction after the latter's death in 888. It was rebuilt towards 948, in which year St. Leofdag, first Bishop of Ribe, was consecrated by Archbishop Adaldag of Hamburg, probably at the Council of Ingelheim (Germany), which the Jutish bishops attended. Leofdag is said to have been martyred by the heathen at Ribe. Until the death of his third known successor Vale (1044-59) the bishops of Ribe, Schleswig, and Aarhus wandered about Jutland on missionary tours.
In 1060, Jutland (i.e. peninsular Denmark) was divided into the four Dioceses of Ribe, Aarhus, Viborg and Vestervig (Borglum). Bishop Thure (1125-34) began to build the fine Cathedral of Our Lady at Ribe, which was finished under Bishop Elias (1142-66), who founded the chapter in 1145. His successor Radulf (1170-71), an Englishman and chancellor to King Valdemar I, translated to the cathedral the relics of St. Leofdag, who was never formally canonized. He began the foundation of the Cistercian Abbey of Logum (Locus Dei) in North Schleswig, which was completed by his successor Stephen (1173-77), formerly Abbot of Herrisvad (in Scania). Bishop Omer (1178-1204) reduced the number of the canons of Ribe to twelve. Bishop Christian II (1288-1313) in 1298 greatly enriched the cathedral school, which had been founded in 1145. Bishops Eskil (1388-1409) and Henry Stangberg (1455-65) published synodal statutes with a view to reforming both clergy and laity.
Ivar Munk was elected bishop in 1499 but not consecrated till 1513. Although he was unable to prevent Duke Christian from protestantizing North Schleswig, he kept Lutheranism out of the rest of his diocese. Ivar Munk opposed Christian's election as King Christian III of Denmark in 1533, being however compelled as a privy councillor for Jutland to join that monarch's party, Ivar Munk resigned his bishopric in 1534 in favour of his nephew, Olaf Munk. The bishop's palace at Ribe was bestowed upon Ivar Munk and there he died in 1539. Like the other Danish bishops Olaf Munk was imprisoned on 12 August, 1536. When released he had to promise to marry as well as to comply with the conditions imposed upon all the Danish bishops. On the fulfillment of his promise the Abbey of Tvis was bestowed upon him, he was later readmitted to the privy council, and he lived the life of a rich nobleman until his death in 1569.
The cathedral of Ribe (restored in 1904), a Romanesque building with Gothic additions and a tower dating from 1440, contained besides the shrine of St. Leofdag a chapel dedicated to St. Lambert, which was a great centre for pilgrimages. St. Lambert was the patron of Ribe as well as of Liège in Belgium, and his cultus at Ribe is doubtless due to the trading connection between that city and the Low Countries. The abbey church of Logum, the Romanesque churches near Ribe, like the cathedral built of volcanic stone brought from Andernach on the Rhine, and the earliest Christian monument in Denmark, the great carved stone set up by King Harold Bluetooth near the funeral mounds of his parents, King Gorm the Old (died 940) and Queen Thyra Danebod (d. 945) at Jellinge near Veile, are all memorials of the Catholic past of the Diocese of Ribe. The cathedral chapter consisted of four prelates and twenty-one prebendaries (twelve resident). There were eight minor canons and nearly fifty chaplains. In the city there were also the Benedictine Convent of St. Nicholas (founded before 1215), a Franciscan and a Dominican priory, each dating from 1259, and a hospital of the Holy Spirit and a commandery of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, both dating from about 1300.
Elsewhere in the diocese were the Cistercian Abbeys of Tvis, near Holstebro (founded by Prince Buris in 1163), of Logum and of Seem, the last having been a Benedictine abbey till 1171. There were Benedictine convents at Gudum and at Stubber, a Dominican priory at Veile and a Franciscan priory at Kolding.
In 1912 there were Catholic churches, schools and hospitals at Esbjerg, Kolding, Fredericia and Vejle.
[edit] Attractions
- 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 (Museet Ribes Vikinger)
- Ribe Art Museum (Ribe Kunstmuseum)
- Ribe Viking Center (Ribe Vikingecenter)
- Denmark's oldest province museum (Antikvarisk Samling)
- The Night Watchman in Ribe. Every evening from 1st of May until 15th of 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 (Vadehavscentret)
- Mandø Mill (Mandø Mølle)
- The Mandø House (Mandøhuset)
- Mandø Island nature reserve, about 30 kilometres southwest
[edit] Famous People from Ribe
(Alphabetic by Surname)
- Playwright Kjeld Abell.
- Hans Adolf Brorson, Danish Pietist clergyman and hymn writer.
- The poet Anders Christensen Bording.
- Emil Christian Hansen, the father of Modern Brewing: At the Carlsberg Laboratories in Copenhagen, he was the first to discover that yeast was composed of different kinds of fungi and that the yeast culture could be cultivated. With this discovery, he was able to produce hybrid yeast. This yeast, known as Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, which allowed the brewing of lager beer, is today used in the vast majority of beer production worldwide.
- Bjørn Dunkerbeck, Windsurfing World Champion.
- Jacob A. Riis, an American immigrant photographer famous for his book How the Other Half Lives, a pioneering work of photojournalism. He was also a longtime friend of Theodore Roosevelt.
- Maren Spliid (Splids), Maren Splids was burned at a fire at the Gallows Hill near Ribe on November 9th 1641. She was probably the most wellknown Danish victim for persecutions of witches.
- Hans Tausen, protagonist of the Danish Reformation was the Bishop of Ribe from 1542-1562.
[edit] Official Honorary Citizens
The following citizens have been declared Honorary Citizens of Ribe: (By year)
- Stiftsfysikus J.J. Kiær (Appointent in 1911)
- Town Archivist C.N. Termansen (Appointent i 1934)
- Editor C. Willemoes (Appointent i 1946)
- Chairman of the Ny Carlsbergfondet, H. E .Nørregård-Nielsen (Appointent i 2005)
[edit] Education in Ribe
The town of Ribe, has a long history as a center of education, namely the Gymnasium (High School) called Ribe Katedralskole (cathedral school) has its roots in the Latin School of Ribe, dating back to at least 1145. Although confirmed to be older, this is the date for the oldest still existing document, that confirms the schools existence. Ribe Katedralskole is more than 850 years old, and is the oldest continously existing school in Scandinavia.
[edit] List of 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 (Danish Only)
- VUC (Adult Education Center). http://www.vuc-ribeamt.dk
[edit] 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.
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[edit] Friendship towns
The following cities are Friendship Towns of Ribe:
- Balleroy in the région of Basse-Normandie in France.
- Ely in the county of Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom.
- Güstrow in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Germany.
- Krems in the federal state of Lower Austria in Austria.
- Leikanger in the county of Sogn og Fjordane in Norway.
- Ratzeburg in the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany.
- Strängnäs in the county of Södermanland in Sweden.
- Tainan (Chinese: 台南市) in the Taiwan Province of the Republic of China - ("Taiwan").
[edit] Trivia
In 1976, a crater on Mars, was named after the city: Nasa Website with picture
One of Denmark's few storks (there are rumored to be only two) lives in Ribe
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia. [1]
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[edit] External links
| Trade emporia of the Viking Age <td style="vertical-align: middle; width: 1px" rowspan="2"> </td> |
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| Dorestad • Kaupang • Lindholm • Hedeby • Ribe • Birka • Sigtuna • Köpingsvik Reric • Arkona • Menzlin • Ralswiek • Wolin • Truso • Kaup • Grobin Vanaja • Aldeigja • Alaborg • Hólmgard • Gnezdovo • Sarskoe • Timerevo |
da:Ribe de:Ribe es:Ribe fr:Ribe nl:Ribe (stad) no:Ribe pl:Ribe pt:Ribe ro:Ribe sh:Ribe (Danska) sv:Ribe
