Maribo

This article is about the town. For Maribo brewery, see Maribo Bryghus.

Coat of arms

Maribo is a town in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. To the north of Maribo is Nørresø ("The Northern Lake" or "Northern Maribo Lake") and to the south is Søndersø ("The Southern Lake" or "Southern Maribo Lake"). Søndersø is the largest lake on Lolland. There are more islands in Søndersø than in any other lake in Denmark. These include the islands of Fruerø, Hestø, Præstø, Borgø, Lindø, Askø and Worsaaes. This is part of the Maribo Lakes Nature Park, which spans the towns of Maribo, Holeby, Sakskøbing and Nysted.

The town of Maribo

The merchant town of Maribo is located centrally on Lolland. Its population is 5,963 (1 January 2011).^[1] It has, among other facilities, a gymnasium (Highschool) and a brewery, Maribo Brewery (Maribo Bryghus).

The predecessor to today's Maribo Brewery was started in 1895. The brewery is Maribo's second largest employer, and produces a range of beers and soft drinks. Maribo Brewery is a part of Royal Unibrew, the second largest brewery business in Scandinavia.

History

Maribo Cathedral

Saint Birgitta (1303–1373), also known as Birgitta of Vadstena, has cast her shadow on this municipality, and is shown on the municipality's coat-of-arms. Her order established the Bridgettine Order's cloister in Maribo, when in 1416 monks from Vadstena cloister were sent to Maribo, then called Skimminge, to help establish a cloister.

In 1536, however, the cloister was abolished. After the old town church burned down in 1596, the cloister then in place received status as town church.

King Christian IV's daughter, Leonora Christina Ulfeldt, was probably the cloister's most famous resident. In 1685 after her release from 21 years imprisonment for high treason from the Blue Tower (Blåtårn) in Copenhagen's Castle, she spent her final years in the cloister, and is buried in a crypt at the church.

In 1803-1804 the islands of Lolland-Falster, who had until then belonged to the Funen diocese, were made into an independent diocese, and the cloister church was given the status of the diocese's cathedral (domkirke). The bishop, however, resides in Nykøbing Falster.

Several times during the 1800s the church has been secured against decline.

Maribo municipality

Maribo City Edge

Until January 1, 2007, Maribo was also a municipality (Danish, kommune) in the former Storstrøm County. The municipality, which included the islands of Askø ("Ash Island") and Lilleø ("little Island") in the Rågø Sound, covered an area of 154 km², and had a total population of 11,098 (2005). Its last mayor was Liljan Køcks, a member of the Socialist People's Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti) political party.

Maribo municipality ceased to exist as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007). It was merged with Holeby, Højreby, Nakskov, Ravnsborg, Rudbjerg and Rødby municipalities to form the new Lolland municipality. This created a municipality with an area of 892 km² and a total population of 49,469 (2005).

Maribo is also the capital of Lolland Municipality.

External links

• Lolland municipality's official website (Danish only)

References

1. ^ BEF44: Population 1st January, by urban areas database from Statistics Denmark

• Municipal statistics: NetBorger Kommunefakta, delivered from KMD aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data)
• Municipal mergers and neighbors: Eniro new municipalities map

Coordinates: 54°46′N 11°31′E / 54.767°N 11.517°E / 54.767; 11.517