Muenster - Town Hall

Muenster, the cultural centre of Westphalia, is a city with a population of more than 250.000 of which nearly 50.000 are students at the University of Muenster. This surely helped Muenster to gain the status of the "bicycle capital of Germany".

Charlemagne sent out St. Ludger in 792 to evangelise the area, so Ludger founded a school here and later was the first bishop of Muenster.

During medieval times Muenster was a leading member of the Hanseatic League. The wealth can still be seen in the gothic architecture of the merchant´s houses.

The devasting Thirty Years' War was ended here. Over a period of four years the parties negotiated here and at Osnabrueck (50kms to the north). Finally in 1648 the "Peace of Muenster" was signed in this town hall, part of what became known as the "Peace of Westphalia".

Actually the treaty was signed in two places. Here and in the town hall of Osnabrueck.

The "Peace of Westphalia" ended as well the "Eighty Years' War" between the Spanish empire - and some provinces of "Habsburg Netherlands". This created the independent "Republic of the Seven United Netherlands", today known as "Kingdom of the Netherlands".

Actually most of the town hall was rebuilt after WWII, as not much was left after the bombings. The facade is original, as it had been removed in the 1940s and stored as a puzzle on a safe place.

In case you will follow the shots I took in Muenster:
This is the place, where the Muenster Rebellion ended, as here stood the scaffold in 1535.