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 Municipality municipality. The highest point in the municipality is Dyred Banke ( above sea level). The municipality, a former "Provincial municipality" was re-created 1 April 1970 as Odense municipality as the result of a ("Municipal Reform") that merged a number of existing "Provincial"- "Parish"- and "Village"- municipalities: Allerup-Davinde, Allese-Næsbyhoved, Broby, Brændekilde, Bellinge, Dalum, Fraugde, Korup-Ubberud, Lumby, Odense, Paarup, Sanderum, Stenløse-Fangel, the "coalition-municipality" of Fjordager (which had been created in 1966 by merging Agedrup and Seden-Åsum municipalities), and Højby parish. Odense municipality was not merged with other municipalities by 1 January 2007 as the result of the nationwide "Kommunalreformen" ("The Municipal Reform"