Münster, situated on the river Aa and on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, is the geographical and economic center of the Münsterland, the see of a Roman Catholic archbishop and a university town. It is a city of churches, of aristocratic mansions and handsome old burghers' houses. The old town is now surrounded by a ring of gardens on the line of the old fortifications.
At Lüdinghausen, 28km/17mi southwest of Münster, stands the 16th C. moated castle of Vischering. Southeast of this is another moated house, Schloss Nordkirchen, a large Baroque building (early 18th c.) which is styled in "Westphalian Versailles."
West of the Aasee, on the Sentruper Höhe in Münster, are the Mühlenhof Open-Air Museum and the All-Weather Zoo, opened in 1974 (over 2,000 animals of 470 different species; dolphin show). Adjoining is the Westphalian Natural History Museum (Planetarium).
At the north end of the Prinzipalmarkt in Münster stands the magnificent St Lambert's Church (Lambertikirche; 14th-15th c.). On the west tower are the three iron cages in which the bodies of the Anabaptists Johann von Leyden, Knipperdollinck and Krechting were displayed in 1536.
To the northeast is the Krameramtshaus of 1588, now the Municipal Library.
To the southwest of the old town of Münster lies the Aasee (40 hectares/100 acres), Münster's water sports paradise (water-bus, sailing school, boat hire).
At Salzstrasse 38 in Münster can be found the Erbdrostenhof, an aristocratic mansion built by the great Westphalian architect Johann Conrad Schlaun in 1754 (restored 1953-70. Beyond it is the Baroque St Clement's Church, also by Schlaun (restored).
3km/2m southwest of Münster's Rüschhaus is Haus Hülshoff, a charming 16th C. moated castle in which Annette von Droste-Hülshoff was born in 1797 (museum).
7km/4.5mi northwest of Münster is the Rüschhaus, a mansion built by J. C. Schlaun in 1745-49 as a summer residence, later occupied by the Westphalian poetess Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (museum).
Address: Haus Rüschhaus, D-48161 Münster-Nienberge, Germany
On the west side of the old town of Münster is the Schloss, the palace of the Prince-Bishops (by J. C. Schlaun, 1767-73; restored after destruction during the Second World War), which now houses the University of Westphalia. Beyond it lies the Schlossgarten, with the Botanic Garden.
Address: Schloss Münster, D-48149 Münster, Germany
In the Prinzipalmarkt of Münster, surrounded by arcades and gabled houses, is the Gothic Town Hall (Rathaus; 14th c., rebuilt), with the fine Peace Chamber (Friedessaal), in which the peace treaty between Spain and the Netherlands at the end of the Thirty Years War was signed in 1648. Next to it is the Stadtweinhaus, a gabled building of the Late Renaissance.
Address: City Hall, Principalmarkt, D-48143 Munster, Germany
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Cathedral
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Ludinghausen - Burg Vischering, Germany
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Ludinghausen - Burg Vischering, Munster
Munster
