Ribe - Cultural and Environmental Features

Cultural and Environmental Features

There are numerous cultural and environmental features of Ribe. Among the cultural highlights are notable churches and museums. The flora and fauna, while depleted in large part from the man-made development and surrounding agricultural land conversion, retain notable aspects of the natural environment. The Ribe River flows through town and hosts certain elements of riparian habitat. Certain notable birdlife is found in and near the town; the European White Stork, Ciconia ciconia, is one of the historic inhabitants of the town, choosing to build nests atop chimneys. This bird has steadily declined in population throughout Western Europe due to agricultural land conversion as well as droughts in its wintering range in Africa.

The following list some of the specific town features:

• Churches
  • Ribe Cathedral (Ribe Domkirke) — The bells of Ribe Cathedral playing the folk song about Queen Dagmar called "Dronning Dagmar ligger i Ribe syg" ("Queen Dagmar lies in Ribe sick").
  • Saint Catharinæ Church and Monastery.
• Museums
  • Ribe Viking Museum (Museet Ribes Vikinger)
  • Ribe Art Museum (Ribe Kunstmuseum)
  • Ribe Viking Centre (Ribe Vikingecenter)
  • Denmark's oldest province museum (Antikvarisk Samling)
• The Night Watchman in Ribe. Every evening from 1 May until 15 September you may accompany the night watchman in Ribe on his route through the old town, while he is singing to alert citizens about bedtime approaching.
• Wadden Sea Center (Vadehavscentret)
• Mandø Mill (Mandø Mølle)
• The Mandø House (Mandøhuset)
• Mandø Island nature reserve, about 30 kilometres southwest