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 Stadium It is part of the sports complex, known as Odense Sports Park (Danish: Odense Idrætspark), that is owned by Odense Municipality and run by the company of Odense Idrætspark (a department of "By- og Kulturforvaltningen, Fritid og biblioteker" under the municipality). The venue was inaugurated in August 1941 as Odense Stadium with major renovations made in the 1990s and 2000s. In recent years, it has been known under several names due to sponsorship arrangements; Fionia Park (2005–2010), TRE-FOR Park (2010–2016), and in October 2016 it was renamed EWII Park, when the naming rights for Odense Boldklub's football matches and events