Münster

Toward the end of World War II, 92% of medieval Münster was destroyed. Many cities in the region decided to create modern metropolises from the rubble. But the citizens of Münster, known for being traditional, decided to rebuild their Altstadt (Old Town) with its original medieval lay-out and architecture. Many outside the city criticized this choice, though, saying that the people of Westphalia’s capital were too conservative.

Today, few would doubt the wisdom and perhaps soul of their decision. The Altstadt  (Old Town) is a marvel for residents and visitors. It’s also a place where peace, tolerance and understanding are celebrated. After all, this is the town where the Treaty of Westphalia was signed in 1648, ending the Thirty Years War and marking a rare time (perhaps the first in Europe) that peace was reached by negotiation and compromise (albeit more than five years of it) rather than by domination and defeat. The site of the negotiations and ultimate signing is the Friedenssaal (Hall of Peace) in the Rathaus.

The Rathaus (Town Hall) is one of the most important achievements of Gothic profane architecture and has been reconstructed in full historic detail. The building from the middle of the 14th century was reconstructed in the 1950's, true to the original. It is in the heart of the Altstadt, on the Prinzipalmarkt, part of the medieval street lined by buildings that form a thick, high ring-wall around the earliest town center.

Since the Middle Ages, the Prinzipalmarkt has been Münster’s main shopping street. The tall, narrow houses with their steep gables and arched arcades on massive columns were originally built by wealthy investors. Generations of merchants have established their businesses along this remarkable street since the late 12th century. The Gothic gables of the Rathaus and the Renaissance façade of the Stadtweinhaus (City Wine House) are almost exactly as they were during medieval times.

You’ll find several demonstrations of the mastery of medieval architecture in Münster’s churches. At the crossing of the city’s two oldest streets, the Gothic Lampertikirche (St. Lampert’s Church) keeps watch over the Principalmarkt. Visitors can crane their necks to see three iron cages hanging from the tower of church that were used in 1536 to make an example of the leaders of the Anabaptist Revolt, whose bodies were placed in the cages for the populace to see and for the birds to ravage. Today’s late Gothic construction dates to the late 14th century, the west tower to the late 19th century.

In the nearby St. Paul’s Cathedral visitors find superb examples of a 13th-century church making the transition from Romanesque to Gothic during the 40 years it was under construction. A marvel of the late medieval times, its astronomical clock features a calendar extending to the year 2071. The Servatii Church, built around 1230, is the smallest and most original of the city churches. It displays late Romanesque and early Gothic elements and appears somewhat submerged since it still stands on original medieval ground level while the city built “up,” literally, around it.

The Liebfrauenkirche (St. Mary’s Church) was first completed in 1340 with the mightiest Gothic church tower in Westphalia, although the helm roof has been missing since a massive storm in 1704. The beautiful sculptures of the Figurenportal (figure door), destroyed by the Baptists, were discovered under the transept and can today be seen in the Landesmuseum (City Museum). The church is also known as the Überwasserkirche (Overseas Church), since it was on the far side of the Aa River from the town.

Where city walls once stood, the Promenade has encircled the city center since the 18th century. Bicycle is the way to go in this two-wheel-friendly city, and the 4.5 km (3 mile)-long, tree-lined Promenade serves as a car-free expressway for pedestrians.

There is also much to be discovered in the countryside surrounding this intriguing city. More than 100 moated castles dot the scenery of Münsterland. The city’s nobility lived in these stately residences during the summer months and returned to their mansions in the city in wintertime. An excellent example that is open to the public is Burg Vischering.

After seeing how the upper-crust lived, visit Mühlenhof Open-Air Museum to see what daily life on the farm was like for everyone else. More than 30 farm houses and other structures—a windmill, bake house, smithy, smoke house, horse-driven grinding mill, village store, storage sheds, bee hives and barns— have been transported from their original locations throughout Westphalia to this village-style, open-air museum on the shores of the Aasee.