Münster

Travel times from Osnabrück:
Train – 30 mins.
Car – 30 mins.

When the Prinzipalmarkt is bathed in a golden light, shops and museums are subtly illuminated, and the entire city center is festively decorated, the city’s Christmas markets open their doors, marking the beginning of a magical time in Münster.

There are five different Christmas markets in Münster, all just minutes away from one another on foot. You can start at the Kiepenkerl Market, located as the base of the statue of Münster’s Kiepenkerl. Explore this small but festively decorated Christmas village offering a whole range of treats, and not just of the edible variety. The Lamberti Market is found at the foot of the Lambertikirche. It’s surrounded by gabled houses and is noted for its little blue huts and pointed roofs that give it a special sparkle.

The biggest and oldest of the five Christmas markets entices visitors with a romantic sky of lights in the Town Hall’s inner courtyard, where you will also find the entrance to the Christmas bazaar run by charitable associations. With its nativity scene, children’s merry-go-round, and huge number of attractive stalls, the Aegidii Christmas Market is a place for taking a relaxed stroll. Opposite Aegidii market, the relatively new Pferdegasse Market is a cozy place for marvelling at the night-time lighting effects on the south facade of the State Museum.

The route for strolling between the five markets will take you through the remarkable Old Town. It’s also a place where peace, tolerance and understanding are celebrated. After all, this is the town where one treaty of the Peace of Westphalia was signed, ending the Thirty Years War and marking a rare time (perhaps the first in Europe) that peace was reached by negotiation and compromise rather than by domination and defeat. The other treaty defining the Peace of Westphalia was negotiated and signed in nearby Osnabrück, the previous stop on this itinerary.

You’ll be delighted by Münster’s Prinzipalmarkt. Lined by houses with pointed roofs and arched pathways, it is one of Europe’s most beautiful inner-city squares. Don’t miss the Town Hall, the St. Lamberti Church, and the Rathaus (Town Hall) with the historic Hall of Peace, where the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia brought an end to the Thirty Years’ War.

Also well worth seeing and experiencing are the Aasee Lake and, on its shores, the Mühlenhof Open-Air Museum, the All-Weather Zoo, the Museum of Natural History and the Planetarium. All are easily reached by water bus.

Other “must-see” attractions include the splendid Baroque buildings by Johann Conrad Schlaun, Westphalia’s great Baroque master builder. His chief work is the Castle (Prince Bishop’s Residence), now part of the University. The Erbdrostenhof and the Church of St. Clemens, reminiscent of the Italian Baroque, are further gems of his creative spirit. Together with the Dominican Church they form the “Baroque Island” in the city center.

The gastronomy in Münster is active day and night, with more than 900 restaurants and bars from student pubs to upscale restaurants. Typical Münster hospitality is found above all in the Kuhviertel (Cow District) with its small, lovingly restored old pubs that Münster’s students have naturally made their favorite haunts. Here young and old sit harmoniously round the scoured wooden tables at which generations of carvers have immortalized themselves, devoting their attention to Münster cuisine and, even more, Münster beer.