Ringsted

Sister cities

• Kutná Hora

History

Ringsted was the site of Sjællands Landsting (lit. Zealand's county thing) during the Middle Ages, which in 1584 moved to St. Bendt's church and became known as Sjællandsfar Landsting. In 1805 it moved to Copenhagen and was renamed Østre Landsret, and is still active under this name. In 1131, Canute Lavard was killed in Haraldsted forest, leading to outbreaks of civil war. The church was consecrated in 1170. In front of the church is the spacious town square leading to the shopping streets with shops and boutiques. The town arms goes back to 1421. There has been much discussion about what it portrays. The traditional answer is at the top the hand of God and under that Virgin Mary with Jesus surrounded by three figures that worship her. The city officially interprets the three figures as Saint Canute Lavard, King Eric Plovpenning, and Saint Benedict of Nursia.