Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Muenster

The city of Freiburg was founded by the Dukes of Zaehringen in 1120. The town was located at a junction of old trade routes and already in 1200 the population had risen to 6000. This was, when under Bertold V the last duke of Zaehringen, the construction of the Freiburg Muenster cathedral began, replacing an older parish church. The blueprint of the church "Muenster Unserer Lieben Frau" was very ambitious, but Freiburg was a very prosperous place, as silver mining in the nearby Black Forrest was thriving. The building of the cathedral begun in the Romanesque style and was continued and completed 1513 for the most part as a Gothic cathedral. The cathedral is 116 meters long, 30 meters wide and the tower (seen here only under scaffolding) is 116 meters high. This tower (completed 1330) was one the highest in Germany during medieval times. The portal to the Nikolaus-chapel, part of the late romanesque transept has a couple of surprising carvings. Here is Alexander the Great going up to heaven in a basket, powered by two griffins. Alexander controls the griffins by holding up two roasted puppies on sticks.

Kloster Allerheiligen (= "All Saints Abbey") is a former Benedictine monastery, founded by Eberhard VI. von Nellenburg in 1049. The Nellenburg family controlled the bypass of the Rheinfall waterfalls, what led to great wealth. The construction site of the monastery was consecrated by by Pope Leo IX and the works were completed already 1064. The church was dedicated to the Saviour, the Holy Cross, the Virgin Mary and All the Saints. Allerheiligen became, instead of the Reichenau Abbey, the new grave lay by the founding family, and Eberhard himself became a monk in the abbey, and died here in 1078. During the Investiture Controversy the pope loyal Burkhard von Nellenburg, Ebergard´s son and heir, conformed in 1080 all of the rights of the monastery. The monastery was subordinate to the Pope, and received the vast estate of the Nellenburg family, the free election of the abbot, and the town of Schaffhausen. Burkhard remained the monastery's Vogt, and motivated the abbot to join with some monks from the Hirsau Abbey, to reform the monastery on the model of Hirsau, that was based on Cluny During the Reformation in Switzerland, the abbey was abolished, and the church of the abbey (seen here) became the second main city church in 1524. Kloster Allerheiligen is a labyrinthic complex of buildings. The abbey´s church ("Muenster") was erected 1090-1095. It is the largest, still existing Romanesque Romanesque structure in Switzerland.

The city of Freiburg was founded by the Dukes of Zaehringen in 1120. The town was located at a junction of old trade routes and already in 1200 the population had risen to 6000. This was, when under Bertold V the last duke of Zaehringen, the construction of the Freiburg Muenster cathedral began, replacing an older parish church. The blueprint of the church "Muenster Unserer Lieben Frau" was very ambitious, but Freiburg was a very prosperous place, as silver mining in the nearby Black Forrest was thriving. The building of the cathedral begun in the Romanesque style and was continued and completed 1513 for the most part as a Gothic cathedral. The cathedral is 116 meters long, 30 meters wide and the tower (seen here only under scaffolding) is 116 meters high. This tower (completed 1330) was one the highest in Germany during medieval times. The higher towers in Ulm, Cologne, Hamburg etc. were all completed within then 19th century. Freiburg Muenster is often been compared to Basel Muenster (60kms south), as "Basel III" is not much older. Colmar (45kms west) and Strasbourg (80kms northwest) were in a process of building large romanesque/gothic churches. Not mentioning Breisach, Rouffach, Schlettstadt...There was quite some competition. The market is still held around the cathedral. That has not changed since the early times.

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". - - Prophet Jan Matthys had the vision, that Jesus would come personally to Muenster on Easter 1534, and convinced of his invulnerability, he left the besieged city with a small group, to welcome the Lord. Only minutes later, the prophet´s head stuck on a long pole and was shown to the city by the besiegers. Strange enough the Anabaptists did believe, that Jan Matthys would resurrect after three days, what did not happen. Now Jan of Leiden started the "Regiment of the 12 Apostles", what added fierce terror to the immense hunger in the besieged city. There are details within the Muenster Rebellion, that are difficult to understand nowadays, as visions and delusions seem to be important and frequent. It may be, that these delusions actually could be caused by ergotism, a poisening through a fungus in rye, better known as "Saint Anthony's Fire". But that is just a theory. Fact is, that the troops of the bishop conquered the town in June 1535. Seven months later the most prominent Anabaptists Jan van Leiden, Bernhard Knipperdolling and Bernhard Krechting are sentenced to death by torture. It is written, that the flesh was teared off their bones with red-hot tongs. What was left of the bodies after that was put into iron cages - the cages were placed on the steeple St. Lamberti. Here are the three original cages. This ended the Muenster Rebellion. The iron cages are still up there, as a warning.. Some details about the Muenster Rebellion are to find here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnster_Rebellion en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Knipperdolling en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Leiden P.S. A little door opens to the balcony just below the golden circle of the clock. Still today a nighwatchman blows a horn from there every half hour from 9 in the evening to midnight. He will do so every day except on tuesdays, as that is his day off.

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". A small church was constructed here around 1000, financed by the local merchants as kind of "counterweight" to the nearby bishop´s cathedral. This was for sure a sign of wealth, but maybe as well a sign of civilian pride and independence. The construction of the gothic church seen now started 1375. The tower with it´s high steeple is younger. End of the 19th century the original tower was decrepit, so it got replaced by this one 1888/1889. It is about 90 meters high - a small copy of the steeple of the Freiburg Minster. The point from where the photo was taken is in front of the town hall. Here the story of the Muenster Rebellion continues. Prophet Jan Matthys had the vision, that Jesus would come personally to Muenster on Easter 1534, so, convinced of his invulnerability, he left the besieged city with a small group, to welcome the Lord. Only minutes later, the prophet´s head stuck on a long pole and was shown to the city by the besiegers. Strange enough the Anabaptists did believe, that Jan Matthys would resurrect after three days, what did not happen. Now Jan of Leiden started the "Regiment of the 12 Apostles", what added fierce terror to the immense hunger in the besieged city. There are details within the Muenster Rebellion, that are difficult to understand nowadays, as visions and delusions seem to be important and frequent. It may be, that these delusions actually could be caused by ergotism, a poisening through a fungus in rye, better known as "Saint Anthony's Fire". But that is just a theory. Fact is, that the troops of the bishop conquered the town in June 1535. Seven months later the most prominent Anabaptists Jan van Leiden, Bernhard Knipperdolling and Bernhard Krechting are sentenced to death by torture. It is written, that the flesh was teared off their bones with red-hot tongs. What was left of the bodies after that was put into iron cages - and these cages were placed on the steeple St. Lamberti. St. Lamberti´s steeple is jut over 100 years old, but the original cages, that had been on the old tower were moved to the new one. A close up of the cages will follow. Some details about the Muenster Rebellion are to find here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnster_Rebellion en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Knipperdolling en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Leiden

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.

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". The Ueberwasserkirche is just about 200 meters west of the cathedral. The car, that you see (stop lamps!) is just passing over a little bridge, as there is a small river, named Aa. So the seen here is "over/ueber" the "water/wasser", what explains the name of the church. A church was built here already 1040, but the gothic church seen here is younger. The construction of this church started 1340 - and took more than a hundred years, until it was finally completed. At that time the church had a nice spire. Then came the Muenster Rebellion, when radical, anarchic Anabaptists established a communal theocracy in Muenster. For 18 months the "Wiedertaeufer" ruled Muenster, the "New Jerusalem". The very unpopular bishop Franz of Waldeck was expelled, the decorations of the cathedral and other churches got burned, the archives destroyed, polygamy got legalized, the community of goods was declared. Prophet Jan Matthys was sure, the God's judgment was near, and that Jesus would come personally to Muenster on Easter 1534 to support them against the evil. This story explains, why the tower of the Ueberwasserkirche lost it´s spire. It took only little time for the expelled bishop the return to Muenster and besiege the town. The Anabaptists under the new mayor Bernhard Knipperdolling and the new King John I of Muenster (aka Jan Bokelson, aka John of Leiden) had the spire destroyed, used the stones for the fortifications - and a cannon was installed on top of the tower. After obstinate resistance, Muenster was taken by the bishop´s armee on June 24, 1535. What happens then - will be told under the next photo... Some details about the Muenster Rebellion are to find here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnster_Rebellion en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Knipperdolling en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Leiden

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 built a school here. When the Diocese of Muenster was founded in 805, Ludger the first bishop here. He had the first church built at this place, named "Ludgerus-Dom", that existed upto 1377, when it got demolished and replaced by a gothic cloister. Next to the "Ludgerus Dome" a new church was built, when Dodo was bishop in Muenster 967-993. This one got the name "Ottonischer Dom". Bishop Hermann of Katzenelnbogen added a westwork to this building in 1192, that got integrated into the third chathedral built here 1225 - 1264. This cathedral still exists, though it was a ruin after WWII and the old westwork never got rebuilt. The cathedral is a mixture of late romanesque and early gothic style. As I have uploaded fotos taken here before, I just add some details. The cathedral (aka "Sankt Pauls Dom") has a nartex with some extraprdenary carvings. A frieze runs all along the walls, depicting comlex hunting scenes, hard working peasants, craftsmen - and musicians. Here is a musician playing the hurdy-gurdy / organistrum.

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 built a school here. When the Diocese of Muenster was founded in 805, Ludger the first bishop here. He had the first church built at this place, named "Ludgerus-Dom", that existed upto 1377, when it got demolished and replaced by a gothic cloister. Next to the "Ludgerus Dome" a new church was built, when Dodo was bishop in Muenster 967-993. This one got the name "Ottonischer Dom". Bishop Hermann of Katzenelnbogen added a westwork to this building in 1192, that got integrated into the third chathedral built here 1225 - 1264. This cathedral still exists, though it was a ruin after WWII and the old westwork never got rebuilt. The cathedral is a mixture of late romanesque and early gothic style. As I have uploaded fotos taken here before, I just add some details. The cathedral (aka "Sankt Pauls Dom") has a nartex with some extraprdenary carvings. A frieze runs all along the walls, depicting comlex hunting scenes, hard working peasants, craftsmen - and musicians. Here is a percussionist, holding the crash cymbals.

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 built a school here. When the Diocese of Muenster was founded in 805, Ludger the first bishop here. He had the first church built at this place, named "Ludgerus-Dom", that existed upto 1377, when it got demolished and replaced by a gothic cloister. Next to the "Ludgerus Dome" a new church was built, when Dodo was bishop in Muenster 967-993. This one got the name "Ottonischer Dom". Bishop Hermann of Katzenelnbogen added a westwork to this building in 1192, that got integrated into the third chathedral built here 1225 - 1264. This cathedral still exists, though it was a ruin after WWII and the old westwork never got rebuilt. The cathedral is a mixture of late romanesque and early gothic style - and it is huge. The cathedral is 109 meter long. The nave, seen here, is 28,30 meter wide - and 22,50 meters high. The gigantic St. Christopher was carved by Johann von Bocholt. It is - not counting the tree- at least 6 meters high.

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 built a school here. When the Diocese of Muenster was founded in 805, Ludger the first bishop here. He had the first church built at this place, named "Ludgerus-Dom", that existed upto 1377, when it got demolished and replaced by a gothic cloister. Next to the "Ludgerus Dome" a new church was built, when Dodo was bishop in Muenster 967-993. This one got the name "Ottonischer Dom". Bishop Hermann of Katzenelnbogen added a westwork to this building in 1192, that got integrated into the third chathedral built here 1225 - 1264. This cathedral still exists, though it was a ruin after WWII and the old westwork never got rebuilt. The cathedral is a mixture of late romanesque and early gothic style. As I have uploaded fotos taken here before, I just add some details. A dwarf with bulging eyes peeps down from a high column without any vertigo. The peaked hat reminds me on hats jews had to wear in many towns during the middle ages.

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 built a school here. When the Diocese of Muenster was founded in 805, Ludger the first bishop here. He had the first church built at this place, named "Ludgerus-Dom", that existed upto 1377, when it got demolished and replaced by a gothic cloister. Next to the "Ludgerus Dome" a new church was built, when Dodo was bishop in Muenster 967-993. This one got the name "Ottonischer Dom". Bishop Hermann of Katzenelnbogen added a westwork to this building in 1192, that got integrated into the third chathedral built here 1225 - 1264. This cathedral still exists, though it was a ruin after WWII and the old westwork never got rebuilt. The cathedral is a mixture of late romanesque and early gothic style - and it is huge. The cathedral is 109 meter long. The nave, seen here, is 28,30 meter wide - and 22,50 meters high. I could not find anything about the gigantic St. Christopher, but (not counting the tree) the statue is at least 6 meters.

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 built a school here. When the Diocese of Muenster was founded in 805, Ludger the first bishop here. He had the first church built at this place, named "Ludgerus-Dom", that existed upto 1377, when it got demolished and replaced by a gothic cloister. Next to the "Ludgerus Dome" a new church was built, when Dodo was bishop in Muenster 967-993. This one got the name "Ottonischer Dom". Bishop Hermann of Katzenelnbogen added a westwork to this building in 1192, that got integrated into the third chathedral built here 1225 - 1264. This cathedral still exists, though it was a ruin after WWII and the old westwork never got rebuilt. The cathedral is a mixture of late romanesque and early gothic style. As I have uploaded fotos taken here before, I just add some details. A detail of the triumphal cross (see previous upload). It dates to the 13th century. The cross is 355 cm high and 262 cm wide. Here is some (German) information about the cross. www.paulusdom.de/kunst/kunstwerke/das-triumphkreuz/

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 built a school here. When the Diocese of Muenster was founded in 805, Ludger the first bishop here. He had the first church built at this place, named "Ludgerus-Dom", that existed upto 1377, when it got demolished and replaced by a gothic cloister. Next to the "Ludgerus Dome" a new church was built, when Dodo was bishop in Muenster 967-993. This one got the name "Ottonischer Dom". Bishop Hermann of Katzenelnbogen added a westwork to this building in 1192, that got integrated into the third chathedral built here 1225 - 1264. This cathedral still exists, though it was a ruin after WWII and the old westwork never got rebuilt. The cathedral is a mixture of late romanesque and early gothic style. As I have uploaded fotos taken here before, I just add some details. The triumphal cross seen here, dates to the 13th century. The cross is 355 cm high and 262 cm wide. Here is some (German) information about the cross. www.paulusdom.de/kunst/kunstwerke/das-triumphkreuz/

I was invited to Muenster to celebrate an event, that changed the lifes of a couple of young men, including mine. Looking back after 40 years! For me the party started a little earlier with "Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado". The night in the "Hot Jazz Club" was well worth the long drive. The band did a really great job and sound in the small cave-like club was tremendous. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsu12FNibB0

I was invited to Muenster to celebrate an event, that changed the lifes of a couple of young men, including mine. Looking back after 40 years! For me the party started a little earlier with "Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado". The night in the "Hot Jazz Club" was well worth the long drive. The band did a really great job and sound in the small cave-like club was tremendous. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsu12FNibB0

I was invited to Muenster to celebrate an event, that changed the lifes of a couple of young men, including mine. Looking back after 40 years! For me the party started a little earlier with "Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado". The night in the "Hot Jazz Club" was well worth the long drive. The band did a really great job and sound in the small cave-like club was tremendous. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsu12FNibB0

I was invited to Muenster to celebrate an event, that changed the lifes of a couple of young men, including mine. Looking back after 40 years! For me the party started a little earlier with "Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado". The night in the "Hot Jazz Club" was well worth the long drive. The band did a really great job and sound in the small cave-like club was tremendous. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsu12FNibB0