Munster

For other places with the same or similar names, and other uses of the word, see Munster (disambiguation)

Town Hall in the Prinzipalmarkt

Münster is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region.

Contents

1 History
2 Sights
3 Museums
4 Scientific Education and Research
5 City boroughs
6 Humorous City
7 Twin cities
8 See also
9 External links

History

In 793 Charlemagne sent out as missionary the Frisian Liudger (later canonized) to convert the Saxons with whom he had been battling, offering as headquarters his recently demolished Frankish stronghold of Mimigernaford ("ford over the Aa river"), at the crossroads of the road from Cologne and the road to Frisia. Liudger was a product of Utrecht and the York school of Ethelbert, which produced many of the clerics who served in Charlemagne's chancelry. He built his church and cloister on the right bank of the Aa, on the height called the Horsteberg: it was the monastery ("monasterium") from which Münster derives its name. In 805 Liudger travelled to Rome to be ordained the first bishop of Münster, and soon founded a school. The combination of ford and crossroad, marketplace, episcopal administration center, library and school, established Münster as an important center [link].

In the Middle Ages Münster was a leading member of the Hanseatic League. In 1534 the Anabaptists took power in the Münster Rebellion and founded a democratic proto-socialistic state. The town was recaptured in 1535; the Anabaptists were tortured to death, their corpses were exhibited in cages, which can still be seen hanging on the Tower of St. Lamberti's steeple.

The signing of the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 at Münster and Osnabrück ended the thirty years war and was one of the foundations upon which modern Europe was built. It also guaranteed the future of the prince-bishop and the diocese; the area was to be exclusively Roman Catholic.

In 1780 the University of Münster (today called "Westphalian Wilhelms-University", WWU) was established, now a major European centre for excellence in education and research with large faculties in the arts, humanities, theology, sciences, business and law. Currently there are about 40,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled.

In 1802 Münster was conquered by Prussia during the Napoleonic Wars. It became the capital of the Prussian province of Westphalia.

In 1899 the city's harbour starts operations when it is linked to the Dortmund-Ems Canal.

In 1924 the radio and television organisation Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) is set up in Münster's harbour area.

In World War II Münster was mostly destroyed by Allied air raids, but it was rebuilt after the war in traditional pre-war style.

The Prince Bishop of Münster in the 1940's was Cardinal Clemens August Graf von Galen one of the most prominent critics of the Nazi government. In retaliation for his success, Münster was heavily garrisoned during WWII and five large complexes of barracks are a still resented feature of the city.

From 1974 onward, the city was the residence of the American artist Moondog, who idolized postwar Germany.

Münster was part of West Germany during the Cold War.

In 2003, Münster hosted the Central European Olympiad in Informatics (CEOI).

In 2004, Münster won the LivCom-Award for Liveable Communities. See the [leaflet (.pdf)] and the 10-min.-long DivX-coded film: [the 48mb-version] or [the 87mb-version] from the official Münster-homepage.

Sights

St Paul's Cathedral, Münster

St Paul's Cathedral, built in the 13th century in a mixture of late Romanesque and early Gothic styles. It has been completely restored after WWII damage. It includes an astronomical clock of 1540, adorned with hand-painted zodiac symbols, which traces the movement of the planets, and plays a Glockenspiel tune every noon.
The Prinzipalmarkt, the marketplace in the city centre with the Gothic town hall (14th century) in which the Peace of Westphalia treaty which put an end to the Thirty Years' War was signed in 1648.
St Lambert's Church (1375), with three cages hanging from its tower above the clock face. In 1535 these cages were used to display the corpses of Jan van Leiden and other leaders of the Münster Rebellion, who promoted polygamy and renunciation to all property.
The Schloss (palace), built 1767-87 as residence for the prince-bishops, now the administrative centre for the University.

Museums

University Geology and Palaentology Museum, exhibiting several important finds, housed by an old city palace
Westphalian State Museum of Art and Cultural History
University bible museum
City Museum ("Stadtmuseum"), exhibition of a large collection showing the political and cultural history of the city from its beginning up to present, housed by a converted former department store
University Mineralogical Museum
Westphalian Horse Museum ("Hippomax")
Mühlenhof open-air museum, depicting a typical Westphalian village as it looked centuries ago
Westphalian Museum for Natural History, state museum and planetarium
West Prussian State Museum ("Drostenhof Wolbeck")
Museum of Lacquer Art
Pablo Picasso Museum of Graphic Art, the only museum devoted exclusively to the graphic works of Pablo Picasso

Scientific Education and Research

University of Münster (Westphalian Wilhelms-University (WWU))
Fachhochschule Münster
Fachhochschule for public administration
Catholic Fachhochschule Münster (Catholic Polytechnical College)
Kunstakademie Münster (Academy of Arts)
Hochschule der Polizei (Police College)
about 92 Schools of primary and secondary education, many with international partnerships

City boroughs

Coerde
Kinderhaus
Sprakel
Handorf
Gelmer
Wolbeck
Gremmendorf
Angelmodde
Hiltrup
Amelsbüren
Berg Fidel
Mecklenbeck
Albachten
Gievenbeck
Roxel
Nienberge
Häger
St. Mauritz
Mauritz
Kreuzviertel
Handorf

Humorous City
Either it's raining, or the church bells are ringing. If both, it's Sunday.
There's a pub opening up.

Twin cities

Münster is twinned with the following places:

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

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