ODENSE, a city of Denmark, the chief town of the province of the same name, forming the northern part of the island of Fünen (Fyen), lies about 4 miles from Odense Fjord on the Odense Aa, the main portion on the north side of the stream and the modern Albani quarter on the south side. It is a station on the railway route between Copenhagen and western Denmark, and a ship canal 10 feet deep constructed in 1796-1804 affords direct communication with the sea. St Canute’s Church, formerly connected with the great Benedictine monastery of the same name, is one of the largest and finest edifices of its kind in Denmark. It is constructed of brick in a pure Gothic style. Originally dating from 1081-93, it was rebuilt in the 13th century, and has been restored since 1864. Under the altar lies Canute, the patron saint of Denmark, who intended to dispute with William of Normandy the possession of England, but was slain in an insurrection at Odense in 1086; Kings John and Christian II. are also buried within the walls. Our Lady’s Church, built in the 13th century and restored in 1851-52 and again in 1864, contains a fine carved altar-piece by Claus Berg of Lübeck. Odense castle was erected by Frederick IV., who died there in 1730. The provincial infirmary (1862), the new post-office, the Franciscan hospital, presented to Fünen in 1539 by King Christian HL, Frederick VII.’s foundation (1862), the episcopal library (25,000 volumes), and Karen Brahe’s library may also be mentioned. As an industrial town Odense has made great progress since the middle of the century; besides a large number of breweries and distilleries, it contains glove-factories, match works, mineral-water works, tobacco-factories, chemical works, &c. The population was 5782 in 1801, 11,122 in 1850, 16,970 ...