Maribo

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.

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

Coat of arms

Town

The merchant town of Maribo is located centrally on Lolland. Its population is 5,790 (1 January 2020).[1] It has, among other facilities, a gymnasium (Secondary school), an open-air museum and a cultural heritage museum.

A brewery, "Maribo Bryghus" used to be located in the town, but it was closed down in 2008 by its owner, Unibrew. Beer labeled "Maribo Øl" is still available, but it is brewed elsewhere.

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, which previously 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) now known as Maribo Cathedral. 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 1 January 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.

Maribo is served by the Lolland Falster Airport.

Notable people

References
  1. BY3: Population 1st January, by urban areas The Mobile Statbank from Statistics Denmark

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