- published: 30 Nov 2015
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Ribe (German: Ripen), the oldest extant Danish town, is in southwest Jutland and has a population of 8,192 (1 January 2011). Until 1 January 2007, it was the seat of both the surrounding municipality, and county. Ribe is now part of the enlarged Esbjerg Municipality in the Region of Southern Denmark.
Established in the first decade of the 8th century and first attested in a document dated 854 AD; 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 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 AD.
The town has many well-preserved old buildings, Ribe Cathedral, and about 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.
Ribe Amt (English: Ribe County) is a former county (Danish: amt) on the Jutland peninsula of southwest Denmark. It included Denmark's fifth largest city, Esbjerg. The county was abolished effective January 1, 2007, when it merged into Region of Southern Denmark (i.e. Region South Denmark).
Coordinates: 55°22′52″N 10°26′07″E / 55.38111°N 10.43528°E / 55.38111; 10.43528