Immediately after its founding Roskilde became an important administrative centre, both for the Crown and the Church. The town was founded at the end of the 10th century and was the ecclesiastical centre of the province of Zealand, which is reflected well in the fact that the town had five monasteries, two hospitals and 14 parish churches, in addition to the Cathedral. In the 15th century the centre of secular power moved to Copenhagen and in the turmoil during the Reformation Roskilde also lost its ecclesiastical status in 1536. It was not until the 19th century that the town experienced a new upswing.
