2. HISTORICAL PART
Ribe is the oldest extant Danish
town and the first document which
attested the town is dated 854 AD, is
in southwest Jutland and has a
population of 8,142. Already at that
point was one of the most important
trade cities in Scandinavia so the
King of Denmark decided to build
the first church in Denmark. 1
January 2007: the Municipality of
Ribe ceased to exist as it merged
with the municipalities of Esbjerg
and Bramming, now forming a new
municipality of Esbjerg.
3. THE HARBOUR
The harbour was used since
Viking Age and Medieval time to
travel to Scandinavia and
Denmark. Sailing north of
Skagen to get into the fjords
town was risky, and to anchor in
the open west coast was a
dangerous undertaking. One of
the few places where was
possible to anchor in safety was
in the Wadden Sea.
4. The Wadden Sea was to the sailing ships the best harbour on the entire west coast in
the sense that a port of its original meaning was a place where they were protected
from wind and sea. After Viking Age the vessels were larger and included the heavy
salt ships from Portugal. To unload their cargo they have to heal their goods into small
everters to help them on the last stretch up the river. It was significantly cheaper.
