Stadt Münster, City of culture
Welcome to Münster in Westphalia
Content
City of culture
Münster takes centre stage in the international art scene over a period of 100 days each decade. The city plays host to the "Sculpture Projects", which number among the most important international exhibitions of contemporary art displayed in the public sphere. The first Sculpture Projects took place in 1977. At the event’s fourth anniversary in 2007, the 34 art works by 36 artists from 14 countries attracted around 550,000 visitors from all over the world. The city places several sculptures on permanent display after each exhibition. Münster’s squares and parks have therefore become the largest open-air museum for contemporary sculpture in recent decades.
www.skulptur-projekte.de
The Sculpture Projects are the jewel in Münster’s cultural crown. However, day to day life in the city is also extremely diverse.
Theatre
Münster is home to over 40 theatres and theatre groups, which perform on a regular basis (www.muenster.de/theater.html). Some important theatres:
- "Städtische Bühnen" (municipal theatres): The municipal theatre includes the musical, drama, children’s and youth and dance theatres and the symphony orchestra, and thus unites five disciplines under one roof. Around 25 premières and 550 performances per season make for a demanding programme, which is supplemented by productions by the Low German Theatre, guest performances, readings, lectures and exhibitions. The "Großes Haus", used for major productions, has 955 seats, and the "Kleines Haus", a smaller stage located in the same building, seats 280 theatre-goers.
www.stadttheater.muenster.de - Theater im Pumpenhaus: North Rhine-Westphalia’s first free theatre was founded in a former sewage pumping station in 1985. The Theater im Pumpenhaus doesn’t have its own company; instead, it offers outstanding national and international artists and theatre groups from Münster the opportunity to showcase their talents during stage performances.
www.pumpenhaus.de/ - Wolfgang Borchert Theatre: The Wolfgang Borchert Theatre by the city harbour is a professional private theatre with its own permanent company, which is complemented by guest performers. It was founded in 1956, and is one of Germany’s oldest private theatres.
www.wolfgang-borchert-theater.de/ - GOP: Modern variety theatre productions are staged by international artists in the GOP-Variety Theatre, directly opposite the main railway station. The emphasis is placed on cultivated live entertainment, combined with creative cuisine.
www.variete.de/Muenster
Cinema
Münster is a city of cinemas. Here, blockbuster films are viewed by up to 80,000 spectators. Münster's inhabitants go to the cinema up to six times more frequently than the populations of other German cities.
www.muenster.de/medien_film.html
- With its nine screens and 2,761 seats, the Cineplex on the Albersloher Weg is the city’s largest cinema. Münster is also home to two cinemas which are regularly singled out for their courageous choice of art house movies away from the mainstream: the "Cinema" on the Warendorfer Straße and the "Schloßtheater" on the Melchersstraße.
www.cineplex.de
www.cinema-muenster.de - In 1981, the "Cinema" hosted the first ever Münster film festival, which quickly gained a national following and is organised by the Filmwerkstatt Münster on a bi-annual basis.
www.filmwerkstatt.muenster.de - Münster has witnessed major film and television productions in recent years. Two of Germany's most popular thriller series are located here: "Münster-Tatort" and "Wilsberg".
www.muenster.de/stadt/filmservice
Museums
Pablo Picasso and August Macke, two of the 20th century’s most important painters, occupy a permanent place in Münster’s museumscape. Their works are leading exponents within a rich selection of exhibits in Münster’s 29 museums and exhibition halls for art, art history, science and technology.
www.muenster.de/museen.html
www5.stadt-muenster.de/schriften/pdf/Museumsfuehrer_e.pdf
Exhibition density is at its peak along the "Museum Mile", on the Pferdegasse/Domplatz (Cathedral Square). This is the site of the Westphalian State Museum of Art and Cultural History, the Westphalian Art Association, the Bible Museum, the Archaeological Museum, the Diocesan Museum of Christian Art and the Cathedral Treasury in St. Paul’s Cathedral. The Geological-Palaeontological Museum and the Mineralogical Museum (Geomuseum) are also due to reopen on the Pferdegasse during the course of 2010.
Some museums:
- LWL State Museum of Art and Cultural History: The collections take the visitor on a journey through 1,000 years of Occidental art and cultural history. The museum, which stores 500,000 artefacts in its repositories, is only able to exhibit 5,000 pieces, or one per cent of the treasures with which it is entrusted, at any one time. It also administers the artistic inheritance of August Macke, one of the most important painters of the Modern Age. In 2009, the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe (LWL) began a large-scale restructuring and rebuilding of the State Museum with a budget of around 48 million euros. The current building will be completely restructured, and a new building will be erected on the site of the former Archaeology Museum in the centre of Münster. The new museum, with a total of 7,500 square metres of exhibition space, is due to be completed at the beginning of 2012.
www.lwl.org/LWL/Kultur/WLMKuK/home - Pablo Picasso Museum of Graphic Arts: The museum's collection unites over 800 prints by Picasso, and includes virtually the entire lithographic oeuvre by the Spanish artist. The collection comprises portraits, still life, turbulent bullfight scenes and ancient mythological creatures, all of which inhabit Picasso’s lithographs. Temporary exhibitions on the life and work of Picasso and his contemporaries make the works of the 20th century genius extremely accessible. The museum is located in a listed building on the Königsstraße.
www.graphikmuseum-picasso-muenster.de/ - Museum of Lacquer Art: The Museum of Lacquer Art on the Windthorststraße is the only one of its kind in the world. The establishment, which is affiliated to the BASF Coatings AG houses a collection of lacquer arts from East Asia, Europe and the Islamic world, including 1,000 artefacts whose date range spans 2,000 years.
www.museum-fuer-lackkunst.de/ - City Museum: The City Museum on the Salzstraße presents the history of the city from its beginnings to the present day. Specific topics and aspects related to Münster’s cultural, artistic and quotidian history are presented during special exhibitions.
www.muenster.de/stadt/museum - Mühlenhof Open-Air Museum: The Mühlenhof displays four centuries’ worth of rural regional culture and craftsmanship over five hectares, and is located in the direct vicinity of the Aasee (Lake Aa) and the “Allwetterzoo” (all-weather zoo). Approximately 30 historic buildings, including a post mill, were either transferred to the museum from their original sites or reconstructed there according to original models.
www.muehlenhof-muenster.org/ - LWL Natural History Museum: A permanent exhibition at the museum traces Westphalia's development from the mammoth steppe to agrarian countryside. The 16-metre long skeleton of a tyrannosaurus rex is a real visitor magnet. Attached to the museum there is also a planetarium.
www.naturkundemuseum-muenster.de
Music
Münster’s music scene is composed of an immense number of orchestras, groups, choirs and bands. The city’s press office provides an initial overview of Münster’s musical spectrum, including performance locations and music lessons online at www.muenster.de/kultur_musik.html
Literature
The "Literaturline" on the internet provides interested parties with an overview of the various famous and undiscovered authors living and working in Münster. The site features both a literary events calendar and lists of links to literary event organisers and patrons.
www5.stadt-muenster.de/literaturline/literaturline.cfm
www.muenster.de/literatur.html
Event and concert locations
The city’s club scene offers a selection of pop, rock and jazz events which delight musical enthusiasts as much as the major classical concerts on the "Städtische Bühnen", or municipal stages or the shows featuring international stars, which are held at the Halle Münsterland. Consumer fairs take place in the region's major event centre on a regular basis, such as the Garden and Wellness Fair "spring – flowers – leisure" or the "Fine Arts and Antiques Fair". The Stadthalle Hiltrup offers visitors a diverse programme featuring craft events, concerts and cabaret. With its concerts and parties held in the "Jib" bar, the "Gleis 22" club on the Hafenstraße has been crowned "club of the year" on the German club scene several times to date.
www.muenster.de/kultur_buehnen.html
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