MÜNSTER MARKETING
Klemensstraße 10
48143 Münster
Tel. +49(0)2 51/4 92-27 10
Fax +49(0)2 51/4 92-77 43
tourismus@stadt-muenster.de
Münster is well worth seeing: Town history
A foray into town history
The walls of Münster have seen a lot and may tell many tales: already since the early Middle Ages, the town was a cathedral city with the right to hold markets, later on a seat of power, then provincial capital and residence of numerous prominent institutions and potentates - last but not least in the splendid castle built by the circle around Johann Conrad Schlaun.
Etching by Everhard Alerdinck, 1636
In Münster, a part of the Piece of Westphalia towards ending the Thirty Years’ War was concluded in 1648. The Baptists founded their empire here, which ultimately turned into a reign of terror and perished in 1535. The nowadays huge university was brought into being in 1773/1780.
In 1875, the first Westphalian zoo was established in Münster; the terrain was upgraded to a local recreation area by flooding the first portion of the Aasee in 1928. In 1924, the WDR (West German Broadcasting Corporation) was born in Münster. After the bomb terror of World War II, the citizens of Münster rebuilt their historical old town almost true to detail.
Since 1977, the “state of the art” of art is on display at the International Sculpture Projects in the public space, coining Münster’s international renown as a city of art.
Münster is fond of recollecting its history: for example, 1993 was the anniversary “1200 years of Münster” and 1998 the 350th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia.
Accompany us on a little foray into the history of the town. Below you can find an overview of important points in the history of Münster in four stages.
