Odense Odense River to the south and Naesbyhoved Lake (now dry) to the north. Nonnebakken, one of Denmark's former Viking ring fortresses, lay to the south of the river. Today, Odense's Møntergården Museum has many artefacts related to the early Viking history in the Odense area. The Vikings built numerous fortifications along the river banks to defend it against invaders coming in from the coast. 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
Odense City Museums Odense City Museums Odense City Museums () is a department in "City and Culture administration" (), which again is a department in Odense municipality administration. It runs and administers all museums in Odense municipality. The first Museum in Odense opened in 1860 under the name "Nordisk Museum" located in Odense Palace. During 1885 it moved to a newly erected building, a few hundred meters from "Odense Palace" – this building today houses the Funen Art Museum, was renamed to "Museum Civitatis Othiniensis" and came under municipal administration. In 1904 the name changed to "Fyns Stiftsmuseum". During the next many years