Münster (; ) is an

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

(''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

region. It is also a state district capital. Münster was the location of the Anabaptist rebellion during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

and the site of the signing of the

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two Peace treaty, peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy R ...

ending the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

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 A person's primary residence, or main residence is the dwelling where they usually live, typically a house or an apartment. A person can only have one ''primary'' residence at any given time, though they may share the residence with other people. A ...

in Münster. Münster is a part of the international Euregio region with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants (

Enschede Enschede (; local ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the province of Overijssel and the Twente region of the eastern Netherlands. The east of the urban area reaches ...

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants dialect, Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the Twente region, in the province of Overijssel. It is part of a larger urban area that also includes Enschede, Borne, Overijssel, Borne, Almelo and Ol ...

, Gronau,

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

History

Early history

In 793,

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

sent out Ludger as a missionary to evangelise the Münsterland. In 797, Ludger founded a school that later became the Cathedral School. Gymnasium Paulinum traces its history back to this school. Ludger was ordained as the first bishop of Münster. The first cathedral was completed by 850. The combination of ford and crossroad, market place, episcopal administrative centre, library and school, established Münster as an important centre. In 1040, Heinrich III became the first king of Germany to visit Münster.

Middle Ages and early modern period

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the

Prince-Bishopric of Münster The Prince-Bishopric of Münster (, or ) was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, ...

was a leading member of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

. In 1534, an apocalyptic

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

sect, led by

John of Leiden John of Leiden (born Johan Beukelszoon; 2 February 1509 – 22 January 1536) was a Dutch Anabaptist leader. In 1533 he moved to Münster, capital of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, where he became an influential prophet, turned the city into ...

, took power in the

Münster rebellion The Münster rebellion (, "Anabaptist dominion of Münster") was an attempt by radical Anabaptists to establish a communal sectarian government in the German city of Münster then under the large Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the Holy Rom ...

and founded a democratic proto-socialistic state. They claimed all property, burned all books except the Bible, and called it the "New Jerusalem". John of Leiden believed he would lead the elect from Münster to capture the entire world and purify it of evil with the sword in preparation for the

Second Coming of Christ The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his ascension to Heaven (which is said to have occurred about two thousand years ago). The ...

and the beginning of the Millennium. They went so far as to require all citizens to be naked as preparation for the Second Coming. However, the town was recaptured in 1535; the Anabaptists were tortured to death and their corpses were exhibited in metal baskets, which can still be seen hanging from the tower of St. Lambert's Church. Part of the signing of the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

of 1648 was held in Münster. This ended the

and the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

. It also guaranteed the future of the prince-bishop and the diocese; the area was to be exclusively

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

18th, 19th and early 20th centuries

The last outstanding palace of the German baroque period, the Schloss Münster, was created according to plans by Johann Conrad Schlaun. The

University of Münster The University of Münster (, until 2023 , WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of study in 15 departments, it is Germany's ...

(called "Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster", WWU, between 1907 and 2023) was established in 1780. It is 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 Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. It was also part of the

Grand Duchy of Berg The Grand Duchy of Berg (), also known as the Grand Duchy of Berg and Cleves, was a territorial grand duchy established in 1806 by Napoleon after his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) on territories between the French Empire at the Rhi ...

between 1806 and 1811 and the

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...

department of the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

between 1811 and 1813, before returning to Prussian rule. It became the capital of the Prussian

province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar ...

. In 1899 the city's harbour started operations when the city was linked to the Dortmund-Ems Canal.

World War II

In the 1940s the Bishop of Münster, Cardinal Clemens August Graf von Galen, was one of the most prominent critics of the Nazi government. In retaliation for his success (''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described Bishop von Galen as "the most obstinate opponent of the National Socialist anti-Christian program"), 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

and the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

, after the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

it was expanded to include the

Eupen Eupen (, , ; ; ; former ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Liège Province, province of Liège, from the Germany, German border (Aachen ...

–

Malmedy Malmedy (; , historically also ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Malmedy had a total population of 12,654. The total area is 99.96 km2 which gives a population dens ...

district of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The headquarters controlled military operations in Münster,

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...

Coesfeld Coesfeld (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Koosfeld'') is the capital of the Coesfeld (district), district of Coesfeld in the Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. History Coesfeld received its city rights in 1197, but was first ...

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

Herford Herford (; ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is situated in the cultural region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL) and the Detmold (administrat ...

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

, Detmold, Lingen,

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; ) is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south. Recklinghaus ...

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; ) is the List of cities in Germany by population, 25th-most populous city of Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher, Emscher River (a tribu ...

, and

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. 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 (), abbreviated as ''PzG'' (WWII) or ''PzGren'' (modern), meaning ''Armoured fighting vehicle, "Armour"-ed fighting vehicle "Grenadier"'', is the German language, German term for the military doctrine of mechanized infantry units in armoured fo ...

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 A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

mostly for French, but also some Polish and Soviet officers, and a Nazi prison with several

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

subcamps in the city and other localities. The city was hit in one of the 1st “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 The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

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

Geography

Geographic position

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 Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

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 Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. The lowest elevation is at the Ems, 44 m

. The city centre is 60 m above sea level, measured at the

Prinzipalmarkt The ''Prinzipalmarkt'' is the historic principal marketplace of Münster, Germany. It is shaped by historic buildings with picturesque pediments attached to one another. It extends from St. Lambert's Church (''Lambertikirche'') in the north to the ...

in front of the historic city hall. The Dutch city of

lies about northwest of Münster. Other major cities nearby include

, about to the north,

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

, about to the south, and

, 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 km².

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 km² in the city centre. Calculating the population density based on the actual populated area results in approximately 2890 inhabitants per km². 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. The perception of Münster as a rain-laden city isn't caused by the absolute amount of rainfall but by the above-average number of rainy days with relatively small amounts of rainfall. The average temperature is with approximately 1500 sun hours per year. Consequently, Münster is in the bottom fifth in comparison with other German cities. The winter in Münster is fairly mild and

snowfall Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

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 Telgte (, regionally ; ) is a town in the Warendorf (district), Warendorf district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the river Ems (river), Ems 12 km east of Münster and 15 km west of Warendorf. Telgte is famous as a place of pilgri ...

Everswinkel Everswinkel is a municipality in Warendorf District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated some 30 km north of Hamm and 15 km east of Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie ...

Sendenhorst Sendenhorst is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately north of Hamm and south-east of Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Sta ...

and Drensteinfurt ( District of Warendorf), as well as

Ascheberg Ascheberg () is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The neighbouring cities, towns and municipalities of Ascheberg are (clockwise, starting in the North) the city Münster, the town Drenst ...

Senden The town of Senden is the second-largest town of the district of Neu-Ulm in Bavaria and is located at the border to Baden-Württemberg. The town belongs to the Donau-Iller-Nahverkehrsverbund. Senden's neighbours are Neu-Ulm in the north, Weiße ...

and Havixbeck ( District of Coesfeld).

City boroughs

The city is divided into six administrative districts or

Stadtbezirk A (; also called ''Ortsbezirk'' in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate) is an administrative division in Germany, which is part of a larger city. It is translated as "borough". In Germany, usually only exist in a metropolis with more than 150,000 in ...

e: "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. *

Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuz ...

: **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 The Werse [] (river no. 32) is a , left-hand tributary of the Ems (river), River Ems in Münsterland, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The Drainage basin, catchment area of the Werse is 762.47 km². Its name may be derived from a pre-Indo- ...

**Mauritz-Ost and Mondstraße, combined better known as St. Mauritz *

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

: ** Albachten ** Gievenbeck ** Mecklenbeck **

Nienberge Nienberge is a German community. It was independent until 1975 and has been part of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, since, located in the north-west of the town. It houses around 7,000 people. The independent community became part of Münster on ...

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

Münster has a population of about 320,000 people. It is the 10th largest city in

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:

Politics

Mayor

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 Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

, 43,978 , 28.5 , 62,824 , 47.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Michael Jung , align=left,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

, 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 (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazine ...

, 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

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,

(Grüne) , 46,696 , 30.3 , 10.1 , 20 , 6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(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 Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

(AfD) , 3,399 , 2.2 , 0.4 , 1 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(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 An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

(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 The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

as well as other politicians have the chance to qualify via their party's state-wide list. As for the

2021 German federal election The 2021 German federal election was held in Germany on 26 September 2021 to elect the members of the 20th Bundestag. State elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were also held. Incumbent chancellor Angela Merkel, first elected in 2005, ...

health politician Maria Klein-Schmeink (

The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *The Greens – The Green Alternative, Austria *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' * Greens of Andorra * The Greens (Benin) *The Greens (Bulgaria) * Greens of Bosnia and He ...

) 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 The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia is the state parliament (''Landtag'') of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which convenes in the state capital of Düsseldorf, in the eastern part of the district of Düsseldorf-Hafen, Hafen ...

Stefan Nacke ( CDU/26.2%) and former environment minister

Svenja Schulze Svenja Schulze (born 29 September 1968) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). She served as Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development in the cabinet of Olaf Scholz from 2021 to 2025. Schulze has been serving as m ...

( SPD/24.1%) both became members of the 20th Bundestag via their parties' lists. Svenja Schulze entered the new

Scholz cabinet The Scholz cabinet (, ) was the 24th Government of Germany, Government of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany during the 20th legislative session of the Bundestag. It was sworn in on 8 December 2021 following the 2021 German federal electio ...

regaining a position as minister, this time in the

Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (, ; abbreviated BMZ) is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its main office is at the former German Chancellery in Bonn with a second major office at the Eu ...

. 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 A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. The 2017 election saw both CDU candidates Stefan Nacke and Simone Wendland winning their seat via the constituency. Via party lists

(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. Retailers have approximately 1.9 billion euro turnover. The city still has traditional merchants' townhouses as well as modern outlets.

Entrepreneurship

Münster's wealth was underpinned by wealthy merchant families such as the Merfelders, Rüschkamps, and Berens. Berens Bank was founded in 1630 in Münster, Germany, by Hermann Berens. Berens was a successful merchant and banker, and he founded the bank to provide financial services to other businesses and individuals in the city. The Berens family lived in a large house on Roggenmarkt, known as the Berenshof. The Berens interests included textiles and grain. The job market situation in Münster is "comparatively good". Of the approximately 130,000 employees subject to social insurance contribution more than 80% work in the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

, about 17% work in the secondary sector and 1% work in the

primary sector The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in d ...

Main sights

* St. Paul's Cathedral, built in the 13th century in a mixture of late Romanesque and early Gothic styles. It was completely restored after World War II. It includes an

astronomical clock An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets. Definition ...

of 1540, adorned with hand-painted zodiac symbols, which traces the movement of the planets, and plays a

Glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the v ...

tune every noon. * The ''

'', the main shopping street in the city centre with the Gothic

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

(14th century) in which the

treaty which put an end to the

was signed in 1648. Immediately north of the ''Prinzipalmarkt'' is the ''Roggenmarkt''. * 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 The Münster rebellion (, "Anabaptist dominion of Münster") was an attempt by radical Anabaptists to establish a communal sectarian government in the German city of Münster then under the large Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the Holy Rom ...

, who promoted polygamy and renunciation of all property. *

Überwasserkirche Überwasserkirche () is the common name of a Gothic architecture, Gothic hall church in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a ''Liebfrauenkirche'' (Church of Our Dear Lady), dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, St. Mary. Officially St. ...

, a Gothic hall church consecrated in 1340 as church of a Stift which grew to be the University of Münster * The

Schloss ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cogn ...

(palace), built in 1767–87 as residence for the prince-bishops by the Baroque architect Johann Conrad Schlaun and Wilhelm Ferdinand Lipper. Now the administrative centre for the university. * The Botanischer Garten Münster, a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

founded in 1803 * The

Zwinger A () is an open kill zone area between two defensive walls that is used for defensive purposes. s were built in the medieval and early modern periods to improve the defence of castles and town walls. The term is usually left untranslated, ...

fortress built in 1528. Used from the 18th to the 20th century as a prison. During World War II, the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

also used the Zwinger for executions * "Krameramtshaus" (1589), an old guild house, which housed the delegation from the Netherlands during the signing of the

* Stadthaus (1773) * Haus Rüschhaus (1743–49), a country estate situated in

, built by Johann Conrad Schlaun for himself * Erbdrostenhof (1749–53), a Baroque palace, also built by Schlaun, residence of Droste zu Vischering noble family and birthplace of Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart. * Clemenskirche (1745–53), a Baroque church, also built by Schlaun *

Kreuzkirche The Dresden Kreuzkirche (Church of the Holy Cross) is a Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), Lutheran church in Dresden, Germany. It is the main church and seat of the ''Landesbischof'' of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony, and the larges ...

, a Gothic-revival church * Signal-Iduna Building (1961), the first high-rise building in Münster * LVM-Building, high-rise building near the Aasee * LBS-Building, location of Münster's first zoo. Some old structures of the former zoo can be found in the park around the office building. Also the "Tuckesburg", the strange-looking house of the zoo's founder, is still intact. * "Münster Arkaden" (2006), new shopping centre between Prinzipalmarkt and the Pablo Picasso Museum of Graphic Art * "Cavete", the oldest academic pub in Münster * Westphalian State Museum of Art and Cultural History * University Bible museum * Buddenturm – a former city water tower built about 1150 as a defence tower and now fitted with windows, is near the largest aggregation of pubs in the city * City Museum ("Stadtmuseum"), exhibition of a large collection showing the political and cultural history of the city from its beginning up to present, housed in 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 * Museum of Lacquer Art (founded and operated by the company

BASF BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...

Coatings) * Pablo Picasso Museum of Graphic Art, the only museum devoted exclusively to the graphic works of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

* Pinkus Müller, the only brewery left in Münster; originally there were more than 150. * Kiepenkerl Statue in Kiepenkerl Square

Education

Münster is home to many institutions of higher education, including the

and

University of Applied Sciences A vocational university or university of applied sciences (UAS), less commonly called a polytechnic university is an institution of higher education and increasingly research that provides applied professional education and grants academic de ...

. The city also has 92 primary and secondary education schools. The city had 61,441 students in 2015/16. 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

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. Bicycle stations in Münster offer bicycle rentals.

Train

Münster's Central Station is on the Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway. The city is connected by Intercity trains to many other major cities in Germany.

Public transport

Historically, Münster had a historic tramway system, but it closed in 1954. Today, Münster does have some public transportation, which includes bus expresses, sightseeing buses, "waterbuses", Lime scooters and bicycle rentals. It is the largest German city without a U-Bahn or an S-Bahn system.

Sports

The city is home to

Preußen Münster Preußen or Preussen is the German word for Prussia. It also refers to: Ships * Preußen (ship), ''Preußen'' (ship), windjammer built in 1902 * SMS Preußen (1873), SMS ''Preußen'' (1873), armored frigate * SMS Preußen (1903), SMS ''Preußen ...

, which was founded on 30 April 1906. The main section is football, and the team plays at Preußenstadion. Other important sports teams include the USC Münster e.V. volleyball club. Uni Baskets Münster is the city's professional basketball team. Home games are at Sporthalle Berg Fidel.

British forces

After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, England, United Kingdom (1958) *

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

, Norway (1967) * Monastir, Tunisia (1969) *

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were ...

, Israel (1981) *

Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, United States (1986) *

Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

, Russia (1989) *

Mühlhausen Mühlhausen () is a town in the north-west of Thuringia, Germany, north of Niederdorla, the country's Central Germany (geography)#Geographical centre, geographical centre, north-west of Erfurt, east of Kassel and south-east of Göttingen ...

, Germany (1990) *

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

, Poland (1991) *

, Netherlands (2020)

Notable people

* 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 The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate 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 Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. * Paul Melchers (1813–1895), Cardinal and Archbishop of

* 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 Alexander Heinrich Rudolph von Kluck (20 May 1846 – 19 October 1934) was a German general during World War I. Early life Kluck was born in Münster, in Westphalia on 20 May 1846. He was the son of architect Karl von Kluck and his wife Elisa ...

(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 Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

* 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 Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

* Friedrich-Carl Rabe von Pappenheim (1894–1977), general in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

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 Alfred Dregger (10 December 1920 – 29 June 2002) was a German politician and a leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Dregger was born in Münster. After graduating from a school in Werl, he entered the German Wehrmacht in 19 ...

(1920–2002), politician and leader of the CDU *

Peter Duesberg Peter Heinz Hermann Duesberg (born December 2, 1936) is a German-American molecular biologist and a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is known for his early research into the genetic aspects o ...

(born 1936), virologist who discovered the first retrovirus *

Dieter Sieger Dieter Sieger (born 3 May 1938) is a German architect, shipbuilder, industrial designer, painter and art collector. He is one of Germany's most prominent and distinctive contemporary designers. In the 1980s and 1990s, Sieger made history by maki ...

(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 * Andreas Dombret (born 1960), board member of German central bank

Deutsche Bundesbank The Deutsche Bundesbank (, , colloquially Buba, sometimes alternatively abbreviated as BBk or DBB) is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Germany within the Eurosystem. It was the German central bank from 1957 to 19 ...

* Monika Grütters (born 1962), politician * Ute Lemper (born 1963), cabaret singer and actress *

Stefan Dohr Stefan Dohr (born 3 September 1965) is a German horn player and principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic. Biography Born in Münster, Dohr obtained the Solo Horn position of the Frankfurt Opera House at the age of 19. He held the same posit ...

(born 1965), French horn player, current principal horn of the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

* 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

References

External links

*
English page of Münster All-Weather Zoo

– 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

(emergency banknotes) depicting the

with Ian Bockelson, Berndt Knipperdollink, Berntken Krechting, and Jan van Leyden. http://webgerman.com/Notgeld/Directory/M/Muenster.htm * {{DEFAULTSORT:Munster Oil campaign of World War II Members of the Hanseatic League Populated places established in the 8th century 8th-century establishments in Europe Urban districts of North Rhine-Westphalia Münster (region)