city
Hedeby (Haithabu / Schleswig)
Haithabu, near Schleswig, Germany · North & Northeast Europe
54.491, 9.565
Attested. Attested by Rimbert's near-contemporary Life of Anskar.
Around 850 the missionary Ansgar received permission from the Danish king Horik to build a church at this Viking trading town, according to Rimbert's Life of Anskar. It was one of the first churches in Scandinavia, serving merchants and converts. The site is a World Heritage property with the Danevirke.
Source stance: insider. Missionary hagiography by Ansgar's successor.
People and groups named here
- Ansgar
- Horik I of Denmark
- Rimbert (biographer)
Sources
- Archaeological Border complex of Hedeby and the Danevirke (UNESCO World Heritage List no. 1553)
UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Rimbert, Life of Anskar (Birka, Schleswig/Hedeby, Ribe)
tr. C. H. Robinson (1921), public domain; Fordham Internet Medieval Sourcebook. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Hedeby (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors. Accessed 2026-11-11.
Further reading
Councils here
None in this list.