Münster gained the status of aGroßstadt (major city) with more than 100,000 inhabitants in 1915.[4] As of 2014[update], there are 300,000[5] people living in the city, with about 61,500 students,[6] only some of whom are recorded in the official population statistics as having theirprimary residence in Münster. Münster is a part of the internationalEuregio region with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants (Enschede,Hengelo,Gronau,Osnabrück).
In 793,Charlemagne sent outLudger as a missionary to evangelise theMünsterland.[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 firstbishop of Münster.[7] The first cathedral was completed by 850.[7] The combination offord and crossroad, market place, episcopal administrative centre, library and school, established Münster as an important centre.[8] In 1040,Heinrich III became the first Holy Roman Emperor to visit Münster.[7]
In 1534, an apocalypticAnabaptist sect, led byJohn of Leiden, took power in theMünster 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 theSecond 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 ofSt. Lambert's Church.[7]
The last outstanding palace of the German baroque period, theSchloss Münster, was created according to plans byJohann Conrad Schlaun.[7] TheUniversity of Münster (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.[citation needed]
Münster was the location of the Oflag VI-Dprisoner-of-war camp mostly forFrench, but also some Polish and Soviet officers,[11] and a Nazi prison with severalforced labour subcamps in the city and other localities.[12]
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 the100th Bomb Group losing 13 of the 14 B-17s that took part in the raid.
A secondary target of theOil Campaign of World War II, Münster was bombed on 25 October 1944 by 34 divertedB-24 Liberator bombers, during a mission to a nearby primary target, theScholven/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.[13] The US17th Airborne Division, fighting as infantry, attacked Münster with the British6th 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.[14]
From 1946 to 1998, there was a Latvian secondary school in Münster,[15] and in 1947, one of the largest of about 93 Latvian libraries in the West was established in Münster.[16] 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.
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.[17] 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, theUniversity of Münster.[18][19]
Münster is situated on the riverAa, approximately 15 kilometres (9 miles) south of its confluence with theEms in the so-calledWestphalian Bight, a landscape studded with dispersed settlements and farms – the "Münsterland". TheWolstoniansediments 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 metresabove sea level. The lowest elevation is at the Ems, 44 mabove sea level. The city centre is 60 m above sea level, measured at thePrinzipalmarkt in front of the historic city hall.
The Dutch city ofEnschede lies about 65 km (40 mi) northwest of Münster. Other major cities nearby includeOsnabrück, about 44 km (27 mi) to the north,Dortmund, about 61 km (38 mi) to the south, andBielefeld, about 62 km (39 mi) to the east.
Münster is one of the 42agglomeration 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 wereamalgamated 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 centreMünster'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.[20] Calculating the population density based on the actual populated area results in approximately 2890 inhabitants per km2.[21][verification needed]
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.[22]: 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).[23]
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.[24] 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.[24] Consequently, Münster is in the bottom fifth in comparison with other German cities. The winter in Münster is fairly mild andsnowfall 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.[25] The record rainfall led to severe flooding throughout the city and the nearbyGreven.
Münster administrative districts. The darker parts represent the built-up areas of the city.
The city is divided into six administrative districts orStadtbezirke: "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, orBezirksvorsteher. 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.[27]
Bicycle parking station, located at the HauptbahnhofMarket Square Münster, CentrePablo Picasso Museum Münster, popular for sightseeing tours
Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions.Source:[28][circular reference][29]
Münster has a population of about 320,000 people. It is the 10th largest city inNorth Rhine-Westphalia and the 20th largest city in Germany. It is also the seventh largest German city by area at 303.28 km2 (117.10 sq mi), and serves as the center of theMünster 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.[citation needed]
Number of largest foreign groups in Münster by nationality:[30]
Results of the second round of the 2020 mayoral election
The current mayor of Münster is Markus Lewe of theChristian 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:
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:
On the state level Münster was divided into two constituencies up until the2017 North Rhine-Westphalia state election. The election system of state elections mirrors that of national elections. During the legislative period ofLaschet cabinet redistricting resulted in Münster now being split up into three constituencies, two of which now also include some surroundingmunicipalities. The 2017 election saw both CDU candidates Stefan Nacke and Simone Wendland winning their seat via the constituency.[35] Via party listsSvenja Schulze (SPD) and Josefine Paul (The Greens) entered the Landtag.[36] After Nacke and Schulze both changed into federal politics, Münster is left with only two representatives in the Landtag.
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.[37] The service sector has created several thousand jobs.[37] Retailers have approximately 1.9 billion euro turnover.[37] The city still has traditional merchants' townhouses as well as modern outlets.[37]
Münster's wealth was underpinned by wealthy merchant families such as the Merfelders, Rüschkamps, and Berens.[citation needed]Berens Bank was founded in 1630 in Münster, Germany, by Hermann Berens.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
The job market situation in Münster is "comparatively good".[38] Of the approximately 130,000 employees subject to social insurance contribution more than 80% work in thetertiary sector, about 17% work in thesecondary sector and 1% work in theprimary sector.[22]: 95
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 anastronomical clock of 1540, adorned with hand-painted zodiac symbols, which traces the movement of the planets, and plays aGlockenspiel tune every noon.
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 ofJan van Leiden and other leaders of theMünster Rebellion, who promoted polygamy and renunciation of all property.
Überwasserkirche, a Gothic hall church consecrated in 1340 as church of a Stift which grew to be the University of Münster
TheSchloss (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.
TheZwinger fortress built in 1528. Used from the 18th to the 20th century as a prison. During World War II, theGestapo also used the Zwinger for executions
"Krameramtshaus" (1589), an old guild house, which housed the delegation from the Netherlands during the signing of thePeace of Westphalia
Stadthaus (1773)
Haus Rüschhaus (1743–49), a country estate situated inNienberge, built by Johann Conrad Schlaun for himself
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
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
Münster is home to many institutions of higher education, including theUniversity of Münster andUniversity of Applied Sciences. The city also has 92 primary and secondary education schools. The city had 61,441 students in 2015/16.[39]There are couple of public and private vocational colleges in the city of Münster.[40]
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
Münster claims to be the bicycle capital of Germany.[41] It states that in 2007, vehicle traffic (36.4%) fell below traffic by bicycle (37.6%).[42] 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. Additionalbicycle paths link all city districts with the inner city and special traffic lights provide signals for bicyclists.[42] Bicycle stations in Münster offer bicycle rentals.[42]
Historically, Münster had a historictramway system, but it closed in 1954. Today, Münster does have some public transportation, which includes bus expresses,[43] sightseeing buses,[44] "waterbuses",[45]Lime scooters[46] and bicycle rentals.[42] It is the largest German city without a U-Bahn or an S-Bahn system.
The city is home toPreußen Münster, which was founded on 30 April 1906. The main section is football, and the team plays atPreußenstadion. Other important sports teams include the USC Münster e.V. volleyball club.
Uni Baskets Münster is the city's professional basketball team.[47] Home games are at Sporthalle Berg Fidel.
After theSecond World War, Münster became a major station withinOsnabrück Garrison, part ofBritish Forces Germany. Their presence was gradually reduced, yet there are still many active military bases. The last forces left Münster on 4 July 2013.[48]
^Martin Kalitschke (11 October 2014)."Jetzt hat Münster 300 000 Einwohner" [Now Münster has 300 000 inhabitants].Westfälische Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved22 March 2017.
^Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022).The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. p. 248.ISBN978-0-253-06089-1.
^Ian L. Hawkins (1999).The Munster Raid: Before and After. FNP Military Division.ISBN978-0917678493.
^Stanton, Shelby (2006).World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939–1946. Stackpole Books. p. 97.
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