Ansgar's mission

Ansgar's mission to proclaim Christianity beyond the northern borders led him to Denmark and Sweden several times after 826. In Birka, Hedeby and Ribe, the main trading places of the North, he succeeded to build churches and to baptize pagans, which was tolerated by the rulers. However, the "Apostle of the North", as he was called, achieved no lasting success. All three parishes lasted only a short time during Ansgar's lifetime. Only with the baptism of King Harald Bluetooth in 965 (100 years after Ansgar's death) did Christianity finally break through in Denmark.