The church, dedicated to Saint Catherine, was built in Romanesque style with a simple nave and chancel of brick.

As Ribe became Denmark's largest and most prosperous town, the priory was reconstructed and expanded in the early 14th century with a larger towerless church and a quadrangular set of buildings providing the friars with privacy from the rest of the community.

In the late 14th century the priory was sacked along with rest of Ribe: a papal letter enjoined the community and monks to reconstruct it.

The Dominicans were primarily missionaries who vowed to be chaste, obedient, and poor, and were established in towns where they or their representatives could go out and beg their daily bread from local residents.

By the late 1520s many Danes wanted an end to the many tithes, fees, rents, forced work, and endless requests for food, clothing, and money by the Catholic Church.

[1] The Dominican priory was converted for use as the city hospital in 1543 by order of Christian III for the care of the sick, poor and weak, and remained so for many years.