Editing Ribe (section)

==History==
[[File:Ribe, the Fiskergade.jpg|thumb|Street in Ribe]]
The town was a center of commercial activity in the early 8th century, and this may have originated with royal influence. Coins may have been struck there in 720. Whichever king was involved in the digging of the [[Kanhave Canal]] may have been involved in the establishment of Ribe also. Trade contacts were mostly with [[Frisia]] and England.<ref name=cambridge>{{cite book |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History |editor1-first=Rosamond |editor1-last=McKitterick |editor2-first=Timothy |editor2-last=Reuter |year=1995 |page=205 |publisher=Cambridge UP |isbn=9780521362924 }}</ref> Of the over 300 [[sceat]]as found in Denmark, 216 come from in or around Ribe, most of them were of the Frisian Wodan type, and these were likely minted in Ribe in the early eighth century.<ref name=feveile>{{cite book|chapter=Series X and Coin Circulation in Ribe |pages=53–68 |first=Claus |last=Feveile |editor1-first=Tony |editor1-last=Abramson |title=Two Decades of Discovery |series=Studies in Early Medieval Coinage: Two Decades of Discovery |volume=1 |publisher=Boydell Press |year=2008 |isbn=9781843833710}}</ref> The [[Ancient Diocese of Ribe]] was established in 948 with the consecration of [[Leofdag of Ribe]] as its first bishop.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Arthur |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/16070b.htm |title=The Catholic Encyclopedia |publisher=The Encyclopedia Press |year=1914 |volume=16 |location=New York |chapter=Ancient See of Ribe in Denmark (Jutland) }}</ref>

Early in the ninth century a 2-meter wide ditch (a demarcation rather than a fortification) was dug around the town, enclosing a 12-hectare area. Later that century the ditch was replaced by a moat, 6 to 7 meters wide. Archeological evidence shows Ribe was "an active and impressive market place" in the eighth and ninth centuries, and again at the end of the eleventh century, but there is little evidence from the period in between; the town may have dwindled or even disappeared.<ref name=feveile/>

When archbishop [[Ansgar]] set out to christianize Scandinavia, he requested (in about 860) of King [[Horik II]] of Denmark that the first Scandinavian church be built in Ribe, which at the time was one of the most important trade cities in Scandinavia. However, the presence in Ribe of a bishop, and thus a cathedral, can only be confirmed from the year 948. Recent archaeological excavations in Ribe, however, have 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.b.dk/viden/danskere-var-kristne-laenge-foer-harald-blaatand|title=Danskere var kristne længe før Harald Blåtand´|author=Lisbeth Quass|newspaper=Berlingske|date=24 July 2014|language=da}}</ref> Excavations conducted between 2008 and 2012 have also revealed more details of the original church built by Ansgar.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/danmark/2014-07-23/danskere-var-kristne-l%C3%A6nge-f%C3%B8r-harald-bl%C3%A5tand|title=Danskere var kristne længe før Harald Blåtand|newspaper=Kristeligt Dagblad|date=23 July 2014|access-date=26 July 2014 |language=da}}</ref>

Construction on the [[Ribe Cathedral]] started in 1150, on top of an earlier church, most probably [[Ansgar]]'s church, built in 860.<ref>{{cite book |title=Rimbert: Life of Anskar, the Apostle of the North, 801–865, translated from the Vita Anskarii by Bishop Rimbert his fellow missionary and successor |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/anskar.asp |accessdate=26 September 2022 |first=Charles H. |last=Robinson |publisher=Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge|year=1921}}</ref> The [[Treaty of Ribe]] was proclaimed in 1460. Being located in a large region of low-lying marshland, Ribe has repeatedly been hit by storm floods, the most devastating being the [[Burchardi flood]] of 1634. The marks after this flood can still be seen on the cathedral's walls and is also marked as the top point on a flood pillar in the town.<ref>{{cite web| title=De 5 største stormfloder i Vadehavet | url=https://naturstyrelsen.dk/naturoplevelser/naturguider/vadehavet/stormfloderne/ | publisher=Naturstyrelsen (Denmark's Ministry of Environment) | access-date=18 October 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=Historiske stormfloder i Nordsøen og Danmark | url=https://www.dmi.dk/hav-og-is/temaforside-stormflod/historiske-stormfloder-i-nordsoen-og-danmark/ | date=3 July 2018 | publisher=Danish Meteorological Institute | access-date=18 October 2023 }}</ref>

The Catholic diocese was dissolved in 1536 during the [[Reformation]]; it was succeeded by the [[Diocese of Ribe]], governed by the newly established protestant [[Church of Denmark]].

On 1 January 2007, the [[Ribe Municipality|Municipality of Ribe]] ceased to exist as it merged with the municipalities of [[Esbjerg Municipality|Esbjerg]] and [[Bramming Municipality|Bramming]], now forming the new municipality of Esbjerg.