Munster On the River Aa

Located in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Munster is the cultural center of the Westphalia region. It’s also the capital of the local government region Munsterland. The history of the city goes back over 1,200 years and took its place in world history when the Treaty of Westphalia was signed there. The city is situated on the River Aa.

Munster Cathedral dates from the 12th and 13th centuries. The Romanesque Towers are the oldest architectural features. On the south side of the west transept is the “Paradise” narthex, a hall that is lined with larger-than-life-sized statues of Jesus and the Twelve Apostles.

Among the highlights is also the Astronomical Clock, dating from the 1540s.

Munster is home to Germany’s first and only museum dedicated to the artist Pablo Picasso. The Kunstmuseum Pablo Picasso is housed in the Druffel’schen Hof built between 1784 and 1788. The museum opened in 2000 and features the world’s largest collection of Picasso prints with over 800 lithographs. The museum also mounts special exhibitions on the life and work of Picasso and his contemporaries.

The vibrant and lively Kuhviertel is home to Munster’s oldest brewery and is famous for its restaurants and bars where they serve typical Westphalian specialties. A lot goes on in this quarter day and night. There are galleries, art shops, and antique stores. 

At the LWL Museum of Natural History with Planetarium visitors can see huge mammoths, explore the world of whales and explore space. The Sternentheater or Theater of Stars has the sharpest digital picture resolution in Europe. The museum also houses the largest ammonite fossil in the world. 

The Munster municipal port has become a Creative Quay with many office buildings, art, culture, restaurants, and trendy clubs. There is a particular charm here with a blend of reconstructed warehouses and modern architecture. 

At the port, visitors can visit the Munster Exhibition Hall of Contemporary Art. The exhibition hall is housed in a converted warehouse that includes 30 artist studios. A view of the water can be enjoyed from many of the coffee houses and restaurants. 

A Munster landmark is the Rathaus or City Hall. This is a Gothic building with a high gable that dates back to the mid-14th century. The original building was destroyed during the war and rebuilt as a near-replica of the original. The most important room here is the Friedenssall or Hall of Peace, where the Spanish-Dutch peace treaty was signed on May 15, 1648, and the Thirty Years War ended with the peace of Westphalia on October 24, 1648. In 2015 the European Commission honored the historical Town Hall of Munster with the European Heritage Label for being the “site of the Westphalian Peace” – a landmark of European history. The historical importance of the treaty is considered to be the beginning of the international system of laws. 

 

For some wonderful strolling around Munster, take a walk along the Munster Promenade, a boulevard lined with lime trees. At one time the city walls were here and the green belt stretches around Old Town today. The promenade is a pedestrian area for everyone traveling on foot, by bike, or on skates. 



The most central local recreation area in Munster is The Aasee. It is only a 15-minute walk from Prinzipalmarkt and offers a variety of leisure activities for both young and old. There are picturesque paths for strollers and paths for bikers and skaters. For those who want to go on the lake, there is a boat rental, a sailing school, and two sailing clubs.

The park around Lake Aasee was awarded a prize as Europe’s most beautiful park in 2009. Visitors and residents alike are charmed by the many sculptures that have been created by internationally renowned artists. 

At this spot, you’ll find the jetty for SOLAARIS, a solar-powered boat that ferries people from the city center to the Allwetterzoo on the west shore.

Allwetterzoo Munster has around 3,000 animals. There are covered walkways that offer protection from all weather conditions.

Among the highlights here is the indoor attraction, BioCity, a conservation center for turtles, a research laboratory, and an interactive exhibition on biodiversity.

The Africaneum, has large panes for viewing the gorillas and other ape species. There are green spaces for picnics and a large area for children with pony and donkey enclosures, playgrounds, and a petting zoo with guinea pigs, lambs, dwarf goats, and chickens.

The University of Münster is in charge of the botanical garden, not far west of the Altstadt. The environment is special as the gardens are in what used to be the city’s fortress, and you can see the star-shaped outline left by the moats. The botanical garden was begun in 1803 as a research and teaching center. There are 8,000 plant species, 10 greenhouses, and an orangery. There is an authentic Musterland farm garden, an arboretum with an oak and beech forest, a tropical house that has a rainforest, a greenhouse with giant Victoria lilies, a nursery, and a zone for plants from Oceania.

The former seat of the Prince-Bishops is the Palace. This is a Baroque work created by Johann Conrad Schlaun. It was destroyed during WW II and restored in 1953. Today the palace is the administrative center of the university. Worth a visit are the Botanical Gardens, located on the palace grounds. 

A creation of the 13th century is St. Paul’s Cathedral. It is particularly known for its astronomical clock dating from the late Middle Ages, with a calendar that goes as far as 2071. The carillon and revolving of the Magi can be seen and heard from Mondays to Saturdays at noon and Sundays and holidays at 12:30 PM. Nearby is the sepulchral chapel of Clemens August Cardinal von Galen, the “Lion of Munster”. In 1987 Pope John Paul II prayed here. A memorial stone commemorates this event. Visitors can see twelve centuries of the cathedral’s art and culture at the cathedral treasury. 

This memorial displays a roaming merchantman in Munsterland carrying his pannier (a basket), known as “Kiepe”. The outfit of the Kiepenkerle included a blue linen gown, red neck scarf, gnarled stick, and pipe. These merchants roamed from farm to farm and from house to house with their baskets of wares. They provided the exchange of goods and tidings between the town and the countryside. 

For those who love landscaped gardens, there is the Nordkirchen Palace. This is a Baroque palace with a spacious garden, and the surrounding park is known as the “Versailles of Westphalia”. The palace was built in the French Classical style by Gottfried Laurenz Pictorius and Johann Conrad Schlaun between 1703 and 1734. The garden is open to the public all through the year. Visitors can also get guided tours of the palace and garden.