Ribe Cathedral (Danish: Ribe Domkirke) was founded in the Viking Age as the first Christian church in Denmark by a missionary monk from Hamburg, under permission of the pagan King Horik I. The cathedral has experienced several damaging events throughout its long history and has been restored, expanded and decorated repeatedly. As it stands today, Ribe Cathedral is the best preserved Romanesque building in Denmark, but reflects many different architectural styles and artistic traditions.
Built between 1150 and 1170, the cathedral is an aisled galleried basilica with towers at the west end and Early Gothic rib vaulting from around 1250.
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