Denmark - Ribe
Ribe...
Denmark’s Oldest Town is on the west coast
If you want to feel like you have been transported back to another time, take a walk with a night watchman through the cobbled streets of Ribe, past the half-timbered houses of this medieval town.
The watchman resumes his traditional evening rounds each night. We began at one of the oldest inns in Denmark. (check for times and place) The Weis’Stue, a half-timbered house that has decorated beamed ceilings, Dutch tiles, old pewter mugs, and farm tables. If you are lucky you could stay in one of the 9 bedrooms. The watchman sings the watchman song and tells tales (in languages of the listeners) about the history of Ribe as you wander through the streets.
The whole medieval town centre, composed of 560 buildings is being preserved. All the buildings are in use and the people that live in the old houses are dedicated to their preservation.
Sitting on Denmark’s’ west coast, Ribe was an important Viking trading centre as early as the 9th century. In the Middle Ages, Ribe was Denmark’s most important town when sea trade routes linked it to England, Germany, and the Mediterranean. Now the harbour is only used by pleasure craft.
Surviving the Reformation, crown disputes, fires, floods, disastrous wars, and the sanding up of their river, Ribe’s enterprising citizens overcame them all. The worst floods in Ribe in historical times are marked on the “flood column,” the top ring of which is a good 6 metres above the normal water level - the flood of 1634.
The most noticeable feature of the town is the Cathedral with its square-shaped Red Brick Tower that dates from the 14th century. You can climb to the top for a wonderful view of the whole town. (Tip: Legoland has a terrific reproduction of the town featuring this Cathedral)
This Cathedral was built in 1117-1225. It has undergone many rebuildings and additions and is Denmark’s only 5-aisled church. It was built on a hill in swampy marshland and has sunk about 1.5 metres below street level.
Over the past 800 years a solid foundation has been created of refuse and ruins from fires and floods -- the culture layers on which the town is resting today and what you can feel as you walk the cobbled streets of Ribe.
Visit Ribe: