Ribe is a municipality (Danish, kommune) in Ribe County on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southern Denmark, The municipality, including the island of Mandø, covers an area of 352 km², and has a total population of 18,147 (2005). Its mayor is Preben Rudiengaard, a member of the Venstre (Liberal Party) political party.
The main town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Ribe.
Neighboring municipalities are Gram and Rødding to the east, Holsted and Bramming to the north, and Skærbæk to the south. Its western border is defined by the waters of the North Sea. The municipality's island of Mandø lies in the North Sea, and is connected to the rest of the municipality by a road. To the north of the island are the waters of Knude Deep (Knudedyb) and to the south Juvre Deep (Juvre Dyb).
By January 1, 2007 Ribe municipality will cease to exist as the result of Kommunalreformen ('The Municipality Reform' of 2007). It will be merged with existing Bramming and Esbjerg municipalities to form the new Esbjerg municipality. This will create a municipality with an area of 741 km² and a total population of 114,097 (2005). The new municipality will belong to the new Region Syddanmark ("South Denmark Region").
Ribe is first mentioned in connection with the Apostle of the North, Ansgar, who obtained land from the Danish king around the year 860. It was here Ansgar was given permission to erect a church and to allow a Christian priest to reside. However we can only confirm the presence of a bishop and thus a cathedral in Ribe from the year 948.
The town has many well-preserved old buildings, and more than 100 houses in the town are protected. Denmark's oldest town hall is found on the town's Von Stackens Plaza (von Støckens Plads). The building was erected in 1496, and was purchased by the city for use as a town hall in 1709.
That these houses still stand is due solely to two facts: no lage outbreaks of fire have occured in Ribe since 1580, and the town lost its economic importance from the middle of the 17th century. This meant that no finances were available for building new houses on a grand scale, nor was there any use of them.
The town has Denmark's oldest province museum