Odense settlements. The first church in Odense appears to have been St Mary's, probably built in the late 12th century. The territory, previously part of the vast Archbishopric of Hamburg, was created a Catholic diocese in 988. The first recorded bishops of Odense were Odinkar Hvide and Reginbert, who was consecrated by Archbishop Æthelnoth of Canterbury, in 1022. Recent excavations have shown that from the early 11th century, the town developed in the area around Albani Torv, Fisketorvet, Overgade and Vestergade. By 1070, Odense had already grown into a city of stature in Denmark. Canute IV of Denmark, generally considered to
Odense of Engineering ("Det Tekniske Fakultet") combines several institutions: "Odense Maskinteknikum" (a mechanical engineering college which was established in 1905 and in 1962 became the Southern Engineering School), the Mads Clausen Institute and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Institute. Odense also includes departments of the University College Lillebaelt headquartered in Vejle. The university is the result of a merger between several further education institutions on Funen and in Jelling, Vejle and Svendborg. UCL is currently undertaking comprehensive renovation of the buildings on Niels Bohrs Allé from the 1960s where it will concentrate its Odense interests. It intends to open University College Lillebælt