Canute IV of Denmark, generally considered to be the last Viking king, was murdered by unruly peasants in Odense's St Alban's Priory on 10 July 1086.

[13] The city celebrated its thousandth anniversary in 1988, commemorating the first mention of the town's name in a letter dated 18 March 988 from the German emperor Otto III which granted rights to Odense and neighbouring settlements.

[19] Recent excavations have shown that from the early 11th century, the town developed in the area around Albani Torv, Fisketorvet, Overgade and Vestergade.

[12] Canute IV of Denmark, generally considered to be the last Viking king, was murdered by unruly peasants, discontent with the high taxes he imposed on the town, in Odense's St Alban's Priory on 10 July 1086.

It was here the English monk Ælnoth wrote Denmark's first literary work, Vita et Passio S. Canuti (The Life and Passion of St Canute).

[24][25] After the Danish Reformation, involving the suppression of the Catholic bishopric in 1536, the city enjoyed a sustained period of prosperity from the 1530s to the mid-17th century, becoming northern Funen's commercial centre.

One of the main sources of income was the sale of cattle, providing substantial funds for the construction of fine half-timbered houses for the local merchants.

[12][13] All this provided an ideal basis for industrialisation, attracting a wide range of industries including iron and metals, textiles, and food and beverages.

[29] Until the beginning of the Danish industrial revolution, Odense was also the second-largest city in modern Denmark, but has in recent times been overtaken by Aarhus.

[36] Suburbs of Odense include Stige to the north, Seden, Bullerup and Agedrup to the northeast, Blommenslyst to the west, Bellinge to the southwest, and Neder Holluf and Højby to the south.

A controlling depth of 11 metres (36 ft) is reported in the northern part of channel between the entrance to the fjord and Lindo Terminal Quay.

SPC 94, Odense Fjord under the EU Habitat and Birds Directives and has been subject to close monitoring, with the target to reach at least "good" ecological status by 2015.

[51][52] The city council's motto is At lege er at leve (Playing is living) summarising a new approach addressing learning, innovation, development and growth with targets for 2017.

[53] Boye and his administration have been criticised for mismanaging the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen in 2005, above all for allegedly signing a contract with Tina Turner for a show which resulted in a deficit of 13 million kroner.

[54] In the 2013 municipal elections, Boye was successful in obtaining sufficient support from the Liberals and the left to ensure his continuation as mayor from the beginning of 2014.

Enterprises include the Albani Brewery, ABB (Asea Brown Boveri), Kansas Workwear (clothing), Plus Pack (canning and containers) as well as manufacturers in the electrical sector such as Riegens / SG Lighting.

Nonnebakken, a hill in the Odense area, is the site of one of Denmark's six former Viking ring castles, built during the reign of Sweyn Forkbeard, who had forced his father Harold Bluetooth to leave the country and seek refuge by the Jomsvikings in Wollin (modern Poland) in around 975.

The archaeological remains of the fort were heavily damaged when a building for the Odd Fellow lodge was constructed on the site during the late nineteenth century.

Saint Canute's Cathedral (Danish: Sankt Knuds Kirke) was formerly connected with the great Benedictine monastery of the same name, and is one of the largest and finest buildings of its kind in Denmark.

Opened as a museum in 1930, the house contains an exhibition of the cobbling tools used by his father and other items based on Andersen's own descriptions.

They include the Steadfast Tin Soldier, the Mermaid, the Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep, the Toad, the Darning Needle, the Emperor's New Clothes, the Sea Horse, the Paper Boat, the Flying Trunk and the Wild Swans.

[95] The Møntergården cultural history museum of Odense is one of the most notable remaining Renaissance buildings of the city, built in 1646 by the nobleman Falk Gøye.

It has many artefacts related to the early Viking history in Odense,[15] and is named after the narrow street Møntestræde adjacent to the building, where a coin workshop once operated in around 1420.

[96] Located in a courtyard of half-timbered houses, the museum also has exhibits on Funen's ancient history, as well as Odense in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

[121] There are many smaller sports clubs in Odense covering athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, climbing, cycling, rowing, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics, handball, jujitsu, karate, riding, roller-skating, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, yoga and wrestling as well as several specialising in facilities for people with disabilities.

The Port of Odense consists of three main basins and a number of facilities along the canal, with quays measuring roughly 4,200 metres (13,800 ft) in length in total.

A 14.5 km double-track line runs from Tarup in the northwest to the station, Syddansk Universitet, a hospital, and Hjallese in the south, with 26 stops.

While there is not much criticism due to the cycling culture that is already fairly prevalent in Odense, those who commute in cars would be naturally upset by the longer red lights.

This is the overall thought the Cycling Embassy had in installing rain sensors, as they hope to implement the technology in other intersections of the city, creating an efficient city-wide system of sustainable transit.

The station began broadcasting on 1 October 1988 as a privately owned company, thereby ending the television monopoly previously exercised by the Danmarks Radio (DR).