 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 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 . 
