Culture is central to life in Münster. Indeed, almost everyone in the city - actors, musicians, writers and artists - contributes to Münster's cultural mixture. As a result, visitors can choose from an eclectic choice of museums, attend plays and concerts of almost every genre, and even ride bikes through an open-air museum that covers most of the city.

Take a Skulp-Tour
Münster's traditional art connects strongly with modern, local art as well as that of the international scene. The most notable example is perhaps Skulpt(o)ur, an international sculpture exhibition that every ten years brings sculptors and other artists to design massive works of art for outdoor display in places of meaning and context. Residents and visitors can follow the so-called "Skulp-Tour" through the city. "Giant Pool Balls" adorns the north edge of the Aasee Lake, a work from the first exhibition in 1977. From the 1987 exhibition, "Tolerance through Dialog" faces two giant steel benches toward each other in the plaza behind the Hall of Peace. Outside a nearby church, the "Buddha of the Thousand Arms" a canopy of manikin-style arms each holding an item that represents a different walk of life. During the war, the crucifix in the adjacent church had been hit and the metal Jesus had lost both arms. Instead of replacing them, words were inscribed: "You must be my arms now. Be as I would be and be my arms."

Most of Münster's museums are indoors, many of them in historic buildings where exhibits remain in their natural setting or other suitable environment, for example, the Hall of Peace in the City Hall. In addition to museums that document the history of the city, there are numerous specialized museums and collections such as the Carnival Museum, the Bible Museum, the Organ Museum, and the Museum of Lacquer Art.

Picasso, Macke and More
For art lovers, the city offers 16 galleries and art dealers. The Pablo Picasso Graphics Museum, the first Picasso Museum in Germany, offers a collection of over 780 lithographs. The Westphalian County Museum for Art and Cultural History is well known for its August Macke exhibitions, and Münster's Arts Academy has produced a young avant-garde well able to present itself in the countless exhibition halls, galleries and studios in the city.

In addition to the city's symphony orchestra, there are many ensembles under the umbrella of the university and conservatoire as well as free associations and a series of excellent master concerts. Münster is also considered to be an "incubator" for jazz music, being host to an international festival every second year. Other festivals in traditional and lyrical music have become firm highlights in the city's cultural calendar.

Münster's theaters are versatile and varied with many programs of interest to non-German-speakers. The "Städtische Bühne" (City Stages) presents both classical repertoire and "Niederdeutsche Bühne" (Low-German Theater). The Wolfgang Borchert Theater, the Theatre in the Pump House and the Kulturschiene (Cultural Track) at the railway station are the specialists of the "free" scene. The Roland-Frosch-Varieté features entertainment of a more cabaret nature.