Münster (; ) is an independent city (Kreisfreie Stadt) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and the historic capital of the Westphalia region, as well being the centre of a state district. During the Protestant Reformation, Münster was the location of the Anabaptist rebellion. Münster and Osnabrück were the sites of the signing of the Treaties of Westphalia which ended the Thirty Years' War in 1648. Today, it is known as the bicycle capital of Germany.

Münster gained the status of a Großstadt (major city) with more than 100,000 inhabitants in 1915. , there are 300,000 people living in the city, with about 61,500 students, only some of whom are recorded in the official population statistics as having their primary residence in Münster. Münster is a part of the international Euregio region with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants (Enschede, Hengelo, Gronau, Osnabrück).

History

Early history

In 793, Charlemagne sent out Ludger as a missionary to evangelise the Münsterland. In 797, Ludger founded a school that later became the Cathedral School. In 1040, Heinrich III became the first Holy Roman Emperor to visit Münster. This ended the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War.), Münster was heavily garrisoned during World War II, and five large complexes of barracks are still a feature of the city. Münster was the headquarters (Hauptsitz) 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 Originally made up of Westphalia and the Rhineland, after the Battle of France it was expanded to include the Eupen – Malmedy district of Belgium.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 Münster, Essen, Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, Bielefeld, Coesfeld, Paderborn, Herford, Minden, Detmold, Lingen, Osnabrück, Recklinghausen, Gelsenkirchen, and Cologne.

Münster was the home station for the VI and XXIII Infantry Corps (Armeekorps), as well as the XXXIII and LVI Panzerkorps. Münster was also the home of the 6th, 16th and 25th Panzer Division; the 16th Panzergrenadier Division; 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 (Infanterie-division).

Münster was the location of the Oflag VI-D prisoner-of-war camp mostly for French, but also some Polish and Soviet officers, and a Nazi prison with several forced labour subcamps in the city and other localities.

The city was hit in one of the first “City Busting” missions of the U.S. 8th Air Force on October 10, 1943. Much of the city center and the railway yard was heavily damaged in the raid, but heavy casualties were inflicted against the American heavy bombers, with the 100th Bomb Group losing 13 of the 14 B-17s that took part in the raid.

A secondary target of the Oil Campaign of World War II, Münster was bombed on 25 October 1944 by 34 diverted B-24 Liberator bombers, during a mission to a nearby primary target, the Scholven/Buer synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen. About 63 per cent of the city including 91 per cent of the Old City was destroyed by Allied air raids. The US 17th Airborne Division, fighting as infantry, attacked Münster with the British 6th Guards Tank Brigade on 2 April 1945 and fought its way into the city centre, which was captured in house-to-house fighting on the following day.

Postwar period

From 1946 to 1998, there was a Latvian secondary school in Münster, and in 1947, one of the largest of about 93 Latvian libraries in the West was established in Münster. In the 1950s the Old City was rebuilt to match its pre-war state, though many of the surrounding buildings were replaced with cheaper modern structures. It was also for several decades a garrison town for the British forces stationed in West Germany.

Post-reunification

In 2004, Münster won an honourable distinction: the LivCom-Award for the most livable city in the world with a population between 200,000 and 750,000. Münster is famous and liked for its bicycle friendliness and for the student character of the city that is due to the influence of its university, the University of Münster.

Geography

Geographic position

thumb|[[Gerard ter Borch: Dutch envoy Adriaan Pauw enters Münster around 1646 for the peace negotiations resulting in the Peace of Westphalia (Stadtmuseum Münster).]]

Münster is situated on the river Aa, approximately south of its confluence with the Ems in the so-called Westphalian Bight, a landscape studded with dispersed settlements and farms – the "Münsterland". The Wolstonian sediments of the mountain ridge called "Münsterländer Kiessandzug" cross the city from north to south. The highest elevation is the Mühlenberg in the northwest of Münster, 97 metres above sea level. The lowest elevation is at the Ems, 44 m above sea level. The city centre is 60 m above sea level, measured at the Prinzipalmarkt in front of the historic city hall.

The Dutch city of Enschede lies about northwest of Münster. Other major cities nearby include Osnabrück, about to the north, Dortmund, about to the south, and Bielefeld, about to the east.

Münster is one of the 42 agglomeration areas and one of Germany's biggest cities in terms of area. But it includes substantial sparsely populated rural districts which were formerly separate local government authorities until they were amalgamated in 1975. Thus nearly half the city's area is agricultural, resulting in a low population-density of approximately 900 inhabitants per km<sup>2</sup>.

thumb|Bronze model of Münster's city centre

thumb|Münster's Lake Aa

Population density

The city's built-up area is quite extensive. There are no skyscrapers and few high-rise buildings but very many detached houses and mansions. Still the population density reaches about 15,000 inhabitants per km<sup>2</sup> in the city centre. Calculating the population density based on the actual populated area results in approximately 2890 inhabitants per km<sup>2</sup>.

Münster's urban area of is distributed into covered with buildings while are used for maintenance and for traffic areas, for agriculture and recreation, are covered by water, is forested and is used otherwise. The perimeter has a length of , the largest extend of the urban area in north–south direction is , in east–west direction .

Climate

A well-known saying in Münster is "Entweder es regnet oder es läuten die Glocken. Und wenn beides zusammen fällt, dann ist Sonntag" ("Either it rains or the church bells ring. And if both occur at the same time, it's Sunday."), but in reality the rainfall with approximately per year is close to the average rainfall in Germany. Consequently, Münster is in the bottom fifth in comparison with other German cities. The winter in Münster is fairly mild and snowfall is unusual. The temperature during summertime meets the average in Germany. The highest daily rainfall was registered on 28 July 2014: One weather station of the MeteoGroup reported a rainfall of ; the State Environment Agency registered at one of its stations during seven hours. The record rainfall led to severe flooding throughout the city and the nearby Greven.

Adjacent cities and districts

Münster borders on the following cities and municipalities, named clockwise and beginning in the northwest: Altenberge and Greven (District of Steinfurt), Telgte, Everswinkel, Sendenhorst and Drensteinfurt (District of Warendorf), as well as Ascheberg, Senden and Havixbeck (District of Coesfeld).

City boroughs

thumb|Münster administrative districts. The darker parts represent the built-up areas of the city.

The city is divided into six administrative districts or Stadtbezirke: "Mitte" (Middle), "Nord" (North), "Ost" (East), "West", "Süd-Ost" (South-East) and "Hiltrup". Each district is represented by a council of 19 representatives elected in local elections. Heading each council is the district mayor, or Bezirksvorsteher. Every district is subdivided into residential quarters (Wohnbereiche). This official term, however, is not used in common speech, as there are no discrete definitions of the individual quarters. The term "Stadtteil" is used instead, mainly referring to the incorporated communities. The districts are also divided into 45 statistical districts.

The following list names each district with its residential and additional quarters. These are the official names, which partly differ from the usage in common speech.

thumb|[[Bicycle parking station, located at the Hauptbahnhof]]

thumb|Market Square Münster, Centre

thumb|Pablo Picasso Museum Münster, popular for sightseeing tours

  • Mitte:
  • Kernbereich (Centre)
  • Nord:
  • Münster-Coerde|Coerde
  • Kinderhaus
  • Sprakel with Sandrup
  • Ost:
  • Dyckburg, consisting of Mariendorf and Sudmühle
  • Gelmer with Gittrup
  • Handorf with Kasewinkel, Kreuzbach, Laer, Dorbaum and Verth on the left bank of the Ems and Werse
  • Mauritz-Ost and Mondstraße, combined better known as St. Mauritz
  • West:
  • Albachten
  • Gievenbeck
  • Mecklenbeck
  • Nienberge with Häger, Schönebeck and Uhlenbrock
  • Roxel with Altenroxel and Oberort
  • Sentruper Höhe
  • Süd-Ost:
  • Angelmodde with Hofkamp
  • Gremmendorf with Loddenheide
  • Wolbeck
  • Hiltrup:
  • Amelsbüren with Sudhoff, Loevelingloh and Wilbrenning
  • Berg Fidel
  • Hiltrup

The centre can be subdivided into historically evolved city districts whose borders are not always strictly defined, such as

  • Aaseestadt
  • Erphoviertel
  • Geistviertel
  • Hansaviertel
  • Herz-Jesu-Viertel
  • Kreuzviertel
  • Kuhviertel
  • Mauritzviertel
  • Neutor
  • Pluggendorf
  • Rumphorst
  • Schlossviertel
  • Südviertel
  • Uppenberg
  • Zentrum Nord

Demographics

thumb|upright|Signal-Iduna-Building, Servatiiplatz

thumb|Population development since 1816

Münster has a population of about 320,000 people. It is the 10th largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the 20th largest city in Germany. It is also the seventh largest German city by area at , and serves as the center of the Münster region (known as Münsterland in German). Considered one of the oldest German cities, Münster has been a major city since approximately 1000 AD. It first reached 100,000 inhabitants in 1948, and the population has continued to grow since the 1980s due to the popularity of the local university. Münster is also known for its bicycles, and some estimates suggest it has more bicycles than people. The city reached a population of 300,000 in 2014.

Number of largest foreign groups in Münster by nationality:

{|class="wikitable"

|-

! Rank

! Nationality

! Population (31 December 2022)

|-

|1|||| 3,478

|-

|2|||| 2,365

|-

|3|||| 1,885

|-

|4|||| 1,735

|-

|5|||| 1,636

|-

|6|||| 1,343

|-

|7|||| 1,105

|-

|8|||| 987

|-

|9|||| 865

|-

|10|||| 738

|-

|}

Politics

thumb|Lamberti square

Mayor

thumb|300px|Results of the second round of the 2020 mayoral election

The current mayor of Münster is Markus Lewe of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who was elected in 2009 and re-elected in 2015 and 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows:

! rowspan=2 colspan=2| Candidate

! rowspan=2| Party

! colspan=2| First round

! colspan=2| Second round

|-

! Votes

! %

! Votes

! %

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Markus Lewe

| align=left| Christian Democratic Union

| 68,817

| 44.6

| 69,705

| 52.6

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Peter Todeskino

| align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens

| 43,978

| 28.5

| 62,824

| 47.4

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Michael Jung

| align=left| Social Democratic Party

| 25,170

| 16.3

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Ulrich Thoden

| align=left| The Left

| 5,200

| 3.4

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Jörg Berens

| align=left| Free Democratic Party

| 4,685

| 3.0

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Roland Scholle

| align=left| Die PARTEI

| 2,581

| 1.7

|-

|

| align=left| Georgios Tsakalidis

| align=left| Münster List

| 1,975

| 1.3

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Michael Krapp

| align=left| Ecological Democratic Party

| 1,139

| 0.7

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Sebastian Kroos

| align=left| Pirate Party Germany

| 918

| 0.6

|-

! colspan=3| Valid votes

! 154,463

! 99.3

! 132,529

! 99.5

|-

! colspan=3| Invalid votes

! 1,132

! 0.7

! 636

! 0.5

|-

! colspan=3| Total

! 155,595

! 100.0

! 133,165

! 100.0

|-

! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout

! 247,189

! 62.9

! 247,097

! 53.9

|-

| colspan=7| Source: State Returning Officer

|}

City council

thumb|300px|Results of the 2020 city council election

The Münster city council governs the city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

! colspan=2| Party

! Votes

! %

! ±

! Seats

! ±

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU)

| 50,465

| 32.7

| 2.5

| 22

| 3

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)

| 46,696

| 30.3

| 10.1

| 20

| 6

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD)

| 27,163

| 17.6

| 9.4

| 12

| 7

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| The Left (Die Linke)

| 7,539

| 4.9

| 0.2

| 3

| 1

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP)

| 7,104

| 4.6

| 1.3

| 3

| 1

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Volt Germany (Volt)

| 4,032

| 2.6

| New

| 2

| New

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD)

| 3,399

| 2.2

| 0.4

| 1

| 1

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Die PARTEI (PARTEI)

| 3,196

| 2.1

| New

| 1

| New

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)

| 1,876

| 1.2

| 0.1

| 1

| ±0

|-

|

| align=left| Munster List (Münsterliste)

| 1,848

| 1.2

| New

| 1

| New

|-

| colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey|

|-

| bgcolor=|

| align=left| Pirate Party Germany (Piraten)

| 959

| 0.6

| 1.5

| 0

| 2

|-

|

| align=left| Modern Social Party (MSP)

| 71

| 0.0

| New

| 0

| New

|-

! colspan=2| Valid votes

! 154,348

! 99.2

!

!

!

|-

! colspan=2| Invalid votes

! 1,273

! 0.8

!

!

!

|-

! colspan=2| Total

! 155,621

! 100.0

!

! 66

! 6

|-

! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout

! 247,189

! 63.0

! 3.3

!

!

|-

| colspan=7| Source: State Returning Officer

|}

Representation

Münster forms its own Electoral district (No. 129) for elections on a national level. Due to Germany's mixture of a direct and a proportional electoral system Münster sends a directly elected member into the Bundestag as well as other politicians have the chance to qualify via their party's state-wide list. As for the 2021 German federal election health politician Maria Klein-Schmeink (The Greens) won the districts seat in the Bundestag with 32.3% of the personal vote. Defeated candidates, former member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia Stefan Nacke (CDU/26.2%) Svenja Schulze entered the new Scholz cabinet regaining a position as minister, this time in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

On the state level Münster was divided into two constituencies up until the 2017 North Rhine-Westphalia state election. The election system of state elections mirrors that of national elections. During the legislative period of Laschet cabinet redistricting resulted in Münster now being split up into three constituencies, two of which now also include some surrounding municipalities. The 2017 election saw both CDU candidates Stefan Nacke and Simone Wendland winning their seat via the constituency. Via party lists Svenja Schulze (SPD) and Josefine Paul (The Greens) entered the Landtag. After Nacke and Schulze both changed into federal politics, Münster is left with only two representatives in the Landtag.

Economy

Greater Münster is home to many industries such as those of public authorities, consulting companies, insurance companies, banks, computer centres, publishing houses, advertising and design. The service sector has created several thousand jobs. Of the approximately 130,000 employees subject to social insurance contribution more than 80% work in the tertiary sector, about 17% work in the secondary sector and 1% work in the primary sector.

There are couple of public and private vocational colleges in the city of Münster.

Public vocational colleges

  • Adolph-Kolping-Berufskolleg
  • Anne Frank Vocational College
  • Hans-Böckler-Berufskolleg
  • Hansa-Berufskolleg
  • Ludwig-Erhard-Berufskolleg
  • Wilhelm-Emmanuel-von-Ketteler-Berufskolleg

Private vocational colleges

  • Technical School for Agricultural Economics, Münster
  • Cooperative Vocational College (GenoKolleg)
  • Hildegardisschule, vocational college in the diocese of Münster
  • Timmermeister-Berufskolleg

Transport

thumb|"Promenade" in the summer

Air

Münster Osnabrück Airport serves the city of Münster. The airport provides flights to European destinations mostly.

Bicycling

Münster claims to be the bicycle capital of Germany. It states that in 2007, vehicle traffic (36.4%) fell below traffic by bicycle (37.6%). The city maintains an extensive network for bicycles including the popular "Promenade" which encircles Münster's city centre. While motorised vehicles are banned, there are paths for pedestrians. Additional bicycle paths link all city districts with the inner city and special traffic lights provide signals for bicyclists. sightseeing buses, "waterbuses", Lime scooters and bicycle rentals. Home games are at Sporthalle Berg Fidel.

British forces

After the Second World War, Münster became a major station within Osnabrück Garrison, part of British Forces Germany. Their presence was gradually reduced, yet there are still many active military bases. The last forces left Münster on 4 July 2013.

Twin towns – sister cities

Münster is twinned with:

  • York, England, United Kingdom (1958)
  • Orléans, France (1960)
  • Kristiansand, Norway (1967)
  • Monastir, Tunisia (1969)
  • Rishon LeZion, Israel (1981)
  • Fresno, United States (1986)
  • Ryazan, Russia (1989)
  • Mühlhausen, Germany (1990)
  • Lublin, Poland (1991)
  • Enschede, Netherlands (2020)

Notable people

thumb|120px|Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, 1838

thumb|120px|Maria Droste zu Vischering

thumb|120px|Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler, bishop of Mainz

thumb|120px|Gunther Plaut

  • Johannes Veghe (c. 1435–1504), religious writer
  • Henry Nicholis (ca.1501 – ca.1580), a German mystic, founded Familia Caritatis.
  • Christoph Bernhard Verspoell (1743–1818), priest and publisher of an influential hymnal
  • Clemens August Droste zu Vischering (1773–1845), Archbishop of Cologne.
  • Georges Depping (1784–1853), German-French historian
  • Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1797–1848), noble and poet.
  • Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler (1811–1877), theologian and politician, Bishop of Mainz.
  • Paul Melchers (1813–1895), Cardinal and Archbishop of Cologne
  • Joseph Weydemeyer (1818–1866), military officer, journalist, politician and Marxist revolutionary
  • Ludwig von Wittich (1818–1884), Prussian lieutenant general
  • Max von Forckenbeck (1821–1892), National Liberal politician, mayor of Wroclaw and Berlin
  • Bernard Altum (1824–1900), zoologist, ornithologist and forest scientist
  • Elisabet Ney (1833–1907), sculptor
  • Alexander von Kluck (1846–1934), German general, World War I
  • Albert Kopfermann (1846–1914), musicologist and librarian
  • Mary of the Divine Heart Droste zu Vischering (1863–1899), noble and nun beatified by Pope Paul VI
  • Carl Schuhmann (1869–1946), gymnast and wrestler
  • Alfred Flechtheim (1878–1937), art dealer, art collector, journalist, and publisher
  • Clemens August Graf von Galen (1878–1946), cardinal, Bishop of Münster, beatified by Pope Benedict XVI
  • Friedrich-Carl Rabe von Pappenheim (1894–1977), general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany and war criminal
  • Kurt Gerstein (1905–1945), SS officer
  • Gunther Plaut (1912–2012), Reform rabbi and author
  • Moondog (1916–1999), musician, composer, theoretician, poet, and inventor of musical instruments
  • Alfred Dregger (1920–2002), politician and leader of the CDU
  • Peter Duesberg (born 1936), virologist who discovered the first retrovirus
  • Dieter Sieger (born 1938), shipbuilder
  • Heinz Lukas-Kindermann (born 1939), opera director
  • Detlev Jöcker (born 1951), composer, singer and songwriter
  • Götz Alsmann (born 1957), television presenter, musician, and singer
  • Ludger Kühnhardt (born 1958) journalist and political scientist and advisor
  • Andreas Dombret (born 1960), board member of German central bank Deutsche Bundesbank
  • Monika Grütters (born 1962), politician
  • Ute Lemper (born 1963), cabaret singer and actress
  • Stefan Dohr (born 1965), French horn player, current principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic
  • Günther Jauch (born 13 July 1965) entertainer, journalist, and TV presenter
  • Tanita Tikaram (born 1969), British singer-songwriter
  • Berthold Warnecke (born 1971), dramaturge and opera director
  • Franka Potente (born 1974), German actress
  • Guido Maria Kretschmer (Born 11 May 1975), designer and TV presenter
  • Linus Gerdemann (born 1982), cyclist
  • Jens Höing (born 1987), racing driver
  • Esther Dierkes (born 1990), opera singer

<gallery>

MuensterRathausSendschwert2800.jpg|Symbolic sword, old city hall

Münster - Hauptbahnhof (2).jpg|Hauptbahnhof, Centre

Entrance to the underground bicycle station Münster oppsite the railway station.jpg|Entrance bicycle station opposite the old railway station

Muenster Promenade 6457.jpg|Promenade in autumn

Marienplatz Münster 2013.jpg|Marienplatz Münster Centre

Former Apollo cinema Münster.jpg|Old Apollo cinema, Marienplatz

Münster's municipal theatre.jpg|Münster's municipal theatre

Public library Münster.jpg|Public Library, Centre

County Museum Münster.jpg|Landesmuseum Münster

LVA Muenster.jpg|LVA (State Social Insurance Board) Münster-Nord

Messecentrum Münster.jpg|Trade Fair Centre Münster

</gallery>

See also

  • Munster, Lower Saxony
  • Munster Province, Republic of Ireland
  • CeNTech
  • Fernmeldeturm
  • Muenster, Texas, U.S.
  • H-Blockx
  • Minster, Ohio, U.S.

References

  • English page of Münster All-Weather Zoo
  • Münster Zoo at Zoo-Infos.de
  • Muenster City Panoramas – Panoramic Views of Münster's Highlights
  • 7Grad.org – Bunkers in Muenster – History of Muenster's air raid shelters
  • The Siege of Muenster – audio discussion from "In Our Time" BBC
  • Technology Park Münster (Host of technology companies in Münster)
  • Tourist-Info
  • Münster Events
  • Münster Notgeld (emergency banknotes) depicting the Münster Rebellion with Ian Bockelson, Berndt Knipperdollink, Berntken Krechting, and Jan van Leyden. http://webgerman.com/Notgeld/Directory/M/Muenster.htm