Short answers, pulled from the story.
Ribe is the oldest town in Denmark. It was a major center of commercial activity in the early eighth century, with coins possibly struck there as early as 720, and it hosted Scandinavia's first Christian church, built by Archbishop Ansgar around 860.
Construction on Ribe Cathedral began in 1150, built on top of an earlier church most probably raised by Archbishop Ansgar around 860. The cathedral's walls still bear visible marks from the Burchardi flood of 1634.
The Burchardi flood of 1634 was the most devastating storm flood in Ribe's history. The waterline it reached is still marked on the walls of Ribe Cathedral and on a flood pillar in the town.
Jacob Riis was born in Ribe in 1849 and emigrated to America, where he became a photographer and social reformer. He is best known for his book How the Other Half Lives, which documented the living conditions of the urban poor. He died in 1914.
The Ancient Diocese of Ribe was established in 948 with the consecration of Leofdag of Ribe as its first bishop. The Catholic diocese was dissolved in 1536 during the Reformation and succeeded by a Protestant diocese under the Church of Denmark.
On the 1st of January 2007, the Municipality of Ribe ceased to exist. It merged with the municipalities of Esbjerg and Bramming to form the new Esbjerg Municipality within the Region of Southern Denmark.