Ribe Cathedral, Denmark

The present Cathedral of Ribe was started about 1110 and completed by 1134. While this Medieval cathedral in a Romanesque style may seem old, it was built about 400 years after the town of Ribe was licensed as a market town by King Angantyr about 705. The port on the Ribe river was used as an international trading center. It was accessible for small boats primarily because the constantly shifting sands off the North Sea. A church was first established here in 860 by the missionary monk Ansgar. It overlaps with the great Viking age and the port was undoubtedly used as a jumping off point for southern explorations. [wikipedia.org]

Ribe port
Port of Ribe
photo Elroy Christenson 2016

Ribe Cathedral, Denmark
photo by Elroy Christenson 2016

Like many of the cathedrals, the Ribe Cathedral also was damaged by fire which also took out a great deal of the town in 1176. Because the church was not completely destroyed it was repaired and sections rebuilt. It was also inundated with about 5 to 7 feet of water by a tidal surge in 1634 from a huge storm off the coast. The storm is known as the "Great Drowning" because it also flooded huge sections of Denmark killing live stock and up to 8,000 people.

Ribe Cathedral
photo Elroy Christenson 2016

The Cathedral School of Ribe (Ribe Katedraskole) is still in operation. It was established in 1145 by Bishop Elias to train additional clergy and church leaders. This makes this one of the oldest schools in the world. Although it was primarily for young men at that time, it presently educates young women as well. It is only a block from the cathedral and functions as a high school or "Gymnaisum" (Danish).

Ribe Altar, Ribe Cathedral
photo Elroy Christenson 2016