Maribo is a town in Lolland municipality

Lolland municipality

Lolland municipality is a municipality in Region Sjælland in Denmark. It covers an area of 892 km² and a total population of 48,219 ....

 in Region Sjælland

Region Sjælland

Region Zealand is an administrative region of Denmark established on January 1, 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which replaced the traditional counties with five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the number of...

 on the island of Lolland

Lolland

Lolland is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of 1,243 square kilometers . Located in the Baltic sea, it is part of Region Sjælland...

 in south Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. 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

Holeby

Holeby was a municipality on the island of Lolland in Storstrøm County in south Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 116 km², and had a total population of 3,982...

, Sakskøbing

Sakskøbing

thumb|The water tower in SakskøbingSakskøbing is a town with a population of 4,701 and a former municipality in Guldborgsund municipality in Region Sjælland on the northeast coast of the island of Lolland in south Denmark...

 and Nysted

Nysted

Nysted is a town in Guldborgsund municipality in Region Sjælland on the southeastern coast of the island of Lolland in south Denmark.-The town of Nysted:...

.

The town of Maribo

The merchant town of Maribo is located centrally on Lolland. Its population is 5,963 (1 January 2011). It has, among other facilities, a gymnasium

Gymnasium (school)

A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...

 (Highschool) and a brewery

Brewery

A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....

, Maribo Brewery (Maribo Bryghus

Maribo Bryghus

Maribo Bryghus is a Danish Brewery located in the town of Maribo. The Brewery was founded in 1895 by Christian Jørgensen as Thor Brewery . It was renamed ten years later to avoid confusion with the Thor Brewery in Randers. In 1997 Maribo Bryghus was acquired by Albani Brewery, which later merged...

).

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

Royal Unibrew

Royal Unibrew is the second largest brewery group in Denmark, selling under the brands Ceres, Faxe and Albani, although their best selling beer is marketed as Royal...

, the second largest brewery business in Scandinavia.

History

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

Bridgettines

The Bridgettine or Birgittine Order is a monastic religious order of Augustinian nuns, Religious Sisters and monks founded by Saint Birgitta of Sweden in approximately 1350, and approved by Pope Urban V in 1370...

'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

Christian IV of Denmark

Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...

's daughter, Leonora Christina Ulfeldt

Corfitz Ulfeldt (1606-1664)

Count Corfits Ulfeldt , Danish statesman, was the son of the chancellor Jacob Ulfeldt. After a careful education abroad, concluding with one year under Cesare Cremonini at Padua, he returned to Denmark in 1629 and quickly won the favor of King Christian IV...

, 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

Blåtårn

Blåtårn was a tower at the royal Danish palace of Copenhagen Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. The tower was used as a prison and has been known as such in history...

) 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

Lolland

Lolland is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of 1,243 square kilometers . Located in the Baltic sea, it is part of Region Sjælland...

-Falster

Falster

Falster is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of 514 km² and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010. Located in the Baltic sea, it is part of Region Sjælland and is administered by Guldborgsund Municipality...

, who had until then belonged to the Funen

Funen

Funen , with a size of 2,984 km² , is the third-largest island of Denmark following Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy, and the 163rd largest island of the world. Funen is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 454,358 inhabitants . The main city is Odense, connected to the...

 diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

, 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

Nykøbing Falster

Nykøbing Falster is a southern Danish city, seat of the Guldborgsund kommune. It belongs to Region Sjælland. The city lies on Falster, connected by the 295-meter-long Frederick IX Bridge over the Guldborgsund waterway to the island of Lolland. The town has a population of 16,464...

.

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

Maribo municipality

Until January 1, 2007, Maribo was also a municipality (Danish

Danish language

Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...

, kommune

Municipalities of Denmark

This is a list of Municipalities of Denmark.-Region Hovedstaden:* Albertslund Municipality* Allerød Municipality* Ballerup Municipality* Bornholm Regional Municipality* Brøndby Municipality* Copenhagen Municipality* Dragør Municipality* Egedal Municipality...

) in the former Storstrøm County

Storstrøm County

Storstrøms Amt is a former county on the islands of Zealand , Møn, Falster, Lolland and some minor islands in southeast Denmark. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of Maribo and Præstø. The county was abolished effective January 1, 2007, when it merged into...

. The municipality, which included the islands of Askø

Askø

Askø is a Danish island north of Lolland. It covers an area of 2.82 km² and has 55 inhabitants .-References:* Tageo.com, "VESTSJAELLAND DENMARK Geography Population" , 2007, webpage: ....

 ("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

Socialist People's Party (Denmark)

The Socialist People's Party is a green and socialist political party in Denmark.-1959–69:The SF was founded on 15 February 1959 by Aksel Larsen, a former leader of the Communist Party of Denmark and CIA agent. Larsen was removed from the ranks of the DKP for his criticism over the Soviet...

 (Socialistisk Folkeparti) political party

Politics of Denmark

The Politics of Denmark takes place in a framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy, in which the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system...

.

Maribo municipality ceased to exist as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007). It was merged with Holeby

Holeby

Holeby was a municipality on the island of Lolland in Storstrøm County in south Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 116 km², and had a total population of 3,982...

, Højreby

Højreby

Until January 1, 2007 Højreby was a municipality on the island of Lolland in Storstrøm County in south Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 128 km², and had a total population of 4,049 . Its last mayor was Jytte Frijs, a member of the Venstre political party...

, Nakskov

Nakskov

Nakskov is a town in south Denmark. It is in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland on the western coast of the island of Lolland. The town has a population of 13,560 . To the west is Nakskov Fjord, an inlet from the Langeland Belt that runs between the islands of Lolland and Langeland...

, Ravnsborg

Ravnsborg

Until January 1, 2007 Ravnsborg was a municipality on the northwest coast of the island of Lolland in the former Storstrøm County in south Denmark. The municipality, including the islands of Fejø and Femø, covered an area of 198 km², and had a total population of 5,569...

, Rudbjerg

Rudbjerg

Until January 1, 2007 Rudbjerg was a municipality on the southwest coast of the island of Lolland in the former Storstrøm County, southern Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 143 km², and had a total population of 3,432 . Its last mayor was Tom Larsen, a member of the Venstre political...

 and Rødby

Rødby

Rødby is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lolland in Denmark. The former Rødby municipality covered an area of 120 km², and had a total population of 6,590...

 municipalities to form the new Lolland municipality

Lolland municipality

Lolland municipality is a municipality in Region Sjælland in Denmark. It covers an area of 892 km² and a total population of 48,219 ....

. 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

Lolland municipality

Lolland municipality is a municipality in Region Sjælland in Denmark. It covers an area of 892 km² and a total population of 48,219 ....

.