Münster

In 793, Charlemagne sent out Ludger as a missionary to evangelise the Münsterland.[7] In 797, Ludger founded a school that later became the Cathedral School.[7] Gymnasium Paulinum traces its history back to this school.[7] Ludger was ordained as the first bishop of Münster.[7] The first cathedral was completed by 850.[7] The combination of ford and crossroad, market place, episcopal administrative centre, library and school, established Münster as an important centre.[8] In 1040, Heinrich III became the first king of Germany to visit Münster.[7]

In the Middle Ages, the Prince-Bishopric of Münster was a leading member of the Hanseatic League.[7]

View from the south-west of Münster in 1570 as seen by Remigius Hogenberg. On the left is the Überwasserkirche, in the centre is St. Paul's Cathedral and to its right St. Lamberti, and on the far right is the Ludgerikirche

In 1534, an apocalyptic Anabaptist sect, led by John of Leiden, took power in the Münster rebellion 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 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.[7]

Part of the signing of the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 was held in Münster.[9] This ended the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War.[9] It also guaranteed the future of the prince-bishop and the diocese; the area was to be exclusively Roman Catholic.

Photo of the Prinzipalmarkt in 1900

The last outstanding palace of the German baroque period, the Schloss Münster, was created according to plans by Johann Conrad Schlaun.[7] The University of Münster (today called "Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster", WWU) 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 during the Napoleonic Wars. It was also part of the Grand Duchy of Berg between 1806 and 1811 and the Lippe department of the First French Empire between 1811 and 1813, before returning to Prussian rule. 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.

Photo of part of the Prinzipalmarkt area around St. Lambert's church in 1945

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 described Bishop von Galen as "the most obstinate opponent of the National Socialist anti-Christian program"[10]), 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).

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 91% of the Old City and 63% of the entire city was destroyed by Allied air raids.[11] The US 17th Airborne Division, employed in a standard infantry role and not in a parachute capacity, attacked Münster with the British 6th Guards Tank Brigade on 2 April 1945 in a ground assault and fought its way into the contested city centre, which was cleared in urban combat on the following day.[12]

From 1946 to 1998, there was a Latvian secondary school in Münster,[13] and in 1947, one of the largest of about 93 Latvian libraries in the West was established in Münster.[14]

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.

Prinzipalmarkt, 2005

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.[15] 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 Westfälische Wilhelms Universität Münster.[16][17]

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 15 kilometres (9 miles) 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 65 km (40 mi) northwest of Münster. Other major cities nearby include Osnabrück, about 44 km (27 mi) to the north, Dortmund, about 61 km (38 mi) to the south, and Bielefeld, about 62 km (39 mi) 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.

Bronze model of Münster's city centre

Münster's Lake Aa

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.[18] Calculating the population density based on the actual populated area results in approximately 2890 inhabitants per km².[19]

Münster's urban area of 302.91 square kilometres (116.95 sq mi) is distributed into 57.54 square kilometres (22.22 sq mi) covered with buildings while 0.99 km² (0.38 sq mi) are used for maintenance and 25.73 km² (9.93 sq mi) for traffic areas, 156.61 km² (60.47 sq mi) for agriculture and recreation, 8.91 km² (3.44 sq mi) are covered by water, 56.69 km² (21.89 sq mi) is forested and 6.23 km² (2.41 sq mi) is used otherwise.[20]^: 18 The perimeter has a length of 107 kilometres (66 miles), the largest extend of the urban area in north–south direction is 24.4 km (15.2 mi), in east–west direction 20.6 km (12.8 mi).[21]

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 758 mm (29.8 inches) per year is close to the average rainfall in Germany.[22] 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 9.4 °C (48.9 °F) with approximately 1500 sun hours per year.[22] 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 122.2 l/m² (2.50 imp gal/sq ft) the State Environment Agency registered at one of its stations 292 l/m² (6.0 imp gal/sq ft) during seven hours.[23] The record rainfall led to severe flooding throughout the city and the nearby Greven.

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).

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.[25]

Bicycle parking station, located at the Hauptbahnhof

Market Square Münster, Centre

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

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:

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:

Party		Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	50,465	32.7	2.5	22	3
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	46,696	30.3	10.1	20	6
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	27,163	17.6	9.4	12	7
	The Left (Die Linke)	7,539	4.9	0.2	3	1
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	7,104	4.6	1.3	3	1
	Volt Germany (Volt)	4,032	2.6	New	2	New
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	3,399	2.2	0.4	1	1
	Die PARTEI (PARTEI)	3,196	2.1	New	1	New
	Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)	1,876	1.2	0.1	1	±0
	Munster List (Münsterliste)	1,848	1.2	New	1	New
	Pirate Party Germany (Piraten)	959	0.6	1.5	0	2
	Modern Social Party (MSP)	71	0.0	New	0	New
Valid votes		154,348	99.2
Invalid votes		1,273	0.8
Total		155,621	100.0		66	6
Electorate/voter turnout		247,189	63.0	3.3
Source: State Returning Officer

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.[29] Defeated candidates, former member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia[30] Stefan Nacke (CDU/26.2%)[29] and former environment minister Svenja Schulze (SPD/24.1%) both became members of the 20th Bundestag via their parties' lists.[31] Svenja Schulze enterd the new Scholz cabinet regaining a position as minister, this time in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.[32]

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.[33] Via party lists Svenja Schulze (SPD) and Josefine Paul (The Greens) entered the Landtag.[34] After Nacke and Schulze both changed into federal politics, Münster is left with only two representatives in the Landtag.

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

Münster claims to be the bicycle capital of Germany.[38] It states that in 2007, vehicle traffic (36.4%) fell below traffic by bicycle (37.6%),[39] even though it is unclear how such a figure is defined. 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.[39] Bicycle stations in Münster offer bicycle rentals.[39]

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.

Historically, Münster had a historic tramway system, but it closed in 1954. Today, Münster does have some public transportation, which includes bus expresses,[40] sightseeing buses,[41] "waterbuses",[42] Lime scooters[43] and bicycle rentals.[39] It is the largest German city without a U-Bahn or an S-Bahn system.