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Münster

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Coordinates: 51°58′N 7°38′E

Münster
Image:Stadtwappen der kreisfreien Stadt Münster.svg Image:Lage der kreisfreien Stadt Münster in Deutschland.png
Country Germany
State North Rhine-Westphalia
Administrative region Münster
District urban district
Population 270,868 source (2005)
Area 302.79 km²
Population density 892 /km²
Elevation 60 m
Coordinates 51°58′ N 7°38′ E
Postal code 48143-48167
Area code 0251
Licence plate code MS
Mayor Berthold Tillmann (CDU)
Website muenster.de

Image:MuensterHistorischesRathaus80.JPG Image:Muenster,Prinzipalmarkt06.jpg 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.

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


Contents

[edit] 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 [1].

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, reproductions of 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 started operations when the city was linked to the Dortmund-Ems Canal.

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

In World War II Münster was maintained as the headquarters (Hauptsitze) for the 6th Military District (Wehrkreis) of the German Wehrmacht, under the command of Infantry General (General der Infanterie) Gerhard Glokke. Originally made up of Westphalia and the Rhineland, after the Battle of France it was expanded to include the Eupen - Malmedy district of Belgium. The headquarters controlled military operations in Munster, Essen, Dusseldorf, Wuppertal, Bielfeld, Coesfeld, Paderborn, Herford, Minden, Detmold, Lingen, Osnabruck, Recklinghausen, Gelsenkirchen, and Cologne. Munster was the home station for the VI and XXIII Infantry Korps, LVI Panzer Korps, and the XXXIII Korps. Munster was also the home of the 6th, 16th and 25th Panzer Divisions; 16th Panzer Grenadier Divisions; and the 6th, 26th, 69th, 86th 106th, 126th, 196th, 199th, 211th, 227th, 253rd, 254th, 264th, 306th, 326th, 329th, 336th, 371st, 385th, and 716th Infantry Divisions.

This made Munster a natural target. It was mostly destroyed by Allied air raids, but it was rebuilt after the war in the traditional pre-war style.

The 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.

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.

[edit] Sights

  • 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.

Image:Bild Muenster St Paulus-Dom.jpg

  • 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.

[edit] Museums

  • University Geology and Palaentology Museum, exhibiting several important finds, housed in 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

[edit] 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)
  • Unteroffizierschule des Heeres (Army NCO College)
  • about 92 Schools of primary and secondary education, many with international partnerships

[edit] 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

[edit] Humorous City Mottos

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

[edit] Twin cities

Münster is twinned with the following places:

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Image:Commons-logo.svg

[edit] Sights

[edit] Images

Image:Commons-logo.svg

[edit] History

[edit] Other


Urban districts and Districts in the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)

Urban
districts

Aachen | Bergisch Gladbach | Bielefeld | Bochum | Bonn | Bottrop | Dortmund | Duisburg | Düsseldorf | Essen | Gelsenkirchen | Hagen | Hamm | Herne | Köln (Cologne) | Krefeld | Leverkusen | Mönchengladbach | Mülheim | Münster | Oberhausen | Remscheid | Solingen | Wuppertal

Districts

Aachen | Borken | Kleve (Cleves) | Coesfeld | Düren | Ennepe-Ruhr | Euskirchen | Gütersloh | Heinsberg | Herford | Hochsauerland | Höxter | Lippe | Märkischer Kreis | Mettmann | Minden-Lübbecke | Oberbergischer Kreis | Olpe | Paderborn | Recklinghausen | Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis | Rhein-Erft-Kreis | Rhein-Kreis Neuss | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis | Siegen-Wittgenstein | Soest | Steinfurt | Unna | Viersen | Warendorf | Wesel

<span class="FA" id="de" style="display:none;" />

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