Jutland
District: Ribe amt
Ribe, one of the oldest towns in the country, lies on the Ribe Å, not far from the place where the river enters the North Sea in the Bay of Fanø.
History
Ribe developed on an estuary which formed one of the few harbors on the west coast of Jutland. Excavations in the 1970s have established that
at one time Ribe lay north of the present river, as shown by the discovery of a Viking settlement of about A.D. 700 near Skt. Nicolaj Gade. In the year 860 Ansgar, Archbishop of Hamburg and Bremen, obtained permission to build a church here; and in 948 Ribe became the episcopal see. From the early 12th C. the town was surrounded by a rampart and outside its gates a castle was built. The kings resided here around 1200.
In the Middle Ages the town traded with England and Germany, exporting cattle and fish. However, the Reformation led to a decline in the population, and it was not until after the re-unification of South Jutland (North Schleswig) with Denmark in 1920 that Ribe began to thrive once more.
Sights
The twisting lanes and streets with their many 16th and 17th C. half-timbered houses (storks' nests) bestow a particular charm. From May 1 to September 15 every year a watchman makes his "evening tour" of the town, singing the watchman's song and telling the story of old Ribe.