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    Münster

    Germany

    Münster

    City

    Münster, with around 323,000 inhabitants, is the major city of the Münsterland region and a city of bicycles: The city counts approximately 500,000 bikes.

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    9. Münster
    Münster, with around 323,000 inhabitants, is the major city of the Münsterland region and a city of bicycles: The city counts approximately 500,000 bikes. In the Historic City Hall on Prinzipalmarkt, the Peace of Münster between Spain and the Netherlands was sworn on May 15, 1648, part of the Peace of Westphalia. Just around the corner stands St. Paul's Cathedral, consecrated in 1264.The Old Town, with its gabled houses and arcades, was rebuilt on its original plots after the Second World War. Around the city center runs the approximately 4.5-kilometer-long Promenade, exclusively for cyclists and pedestrians. Additionally, there's the Baroque Palace, today home to the university, the Aasee lake, and the LWL Museum of Art and Culture. Every ten years, the Skulptur Projekte transform the city into an open-air museum, next in 2027.
    Münster has around 323,000 inhabitants and 65,000 students, but you can easily explore the Old Town on foot. For everything else, you take a bike, just like the locals: The city boasts around 500,000 bicycles, and the approximately 4.5-kilometer-long Promenade around the city center is reserved for cyclists and pedestrians. What makes Münster special is its blend of peace history, Domplatz, and modern open-air art. Besides Prinzipalmarkt, the Kuhviertel with its pubs, the Kreuzviertel, and the Hansaviertel with its converted harbor are worth exploring.

    Sights in Münster

    Discover the most important sights and attractions

    Münster Palace
    Castle

    1Münster Palace

    Johann Conrad Schlaun designed the baroque residence of the prince-bishops, which was built from 1767 to 1787 of brick and light sandstone. Since 1954, it has served as the university's seat; behind it lies the palace garden with the Botanical Garden.
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    St. Paulus Dom
    Church

    2St. Paulus Dom

    The Cathedral (1225-64) combines Romanesque westwork with Gothic basilica; it's almost 109m long. Inside are the 1540-42 astronomical clock and the monumental 1627 Christopher statue.
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    Historic Town Hall & Hall of Peace
    Historic Landmark

    3Historic Town Hall & Hall of Peace

    In the Hall of Peace, the old Council Chamber, the Peace of Münster was sworn between Spain and the Netherlands on 15 May 1648. The Town Hall, burned out in October 1944, with its Gothic gable from the late 14th century, was rebuilt by 1958 and has borne the European Heritage Label since 2015.
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    Aasee & Aasee Terraces
    Attraction

    4Aasee & Aasee Terraces

    The approx. 2.3 km long reservoir, completed in 1934 southwest of the city center, is Münster's largest local recreation area. An approx. 5.7 km circular path leads around the lake; on its shore stand Claes Oldenburg's Giant Pool Balls from 1977.
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    St. Lamberti
    Church

    5St. Lamberti

    On the 90.5m-high tower of the late Gothic hall church hang three iron cages where the bodies of executed Anabaptist leaders were displayed in 1536. In the evenings, the tower keeper blows his horn half-hourly until midnight, except Tuesdays.
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    LWL-Museum for Art and Culture
    Museum

    6LWL-Museum for Art and Culture

    The museum on Cathedral Square, in its new building opened in 2014 by Staab Architekten, showcases art from the early Middle Ages to the present day, including works by Conrad von Soest and August Macke. Its collection comprises more than 300,000 objects.
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    Restaurants in Münster

    1

    Pinkus Müller Restaurant

    Restaurant of the Pinkus Müller family brewery in Kuhviertel, existing since 1816 according to Google; German cuisine.
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    2

    Old Guesthouse Leve

    Traditional inn with wood paneling and Delft tiles, hearty German dishes and draught beer.
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    3

    Guesthouse Stuhlmacher

    Cozy inn on the Prinzipalmarkt with regional dishes such as sausage specialties, Schnitzel, and apple strudel, as well as draught beer and wine.
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    City of Peace and Open-Air Museum

    In the Peace Hall of the Town Hall, on May 15, 1648, the Peace of Münster between Spain and the Netherlands was sworn, a part of the Peace of Westphalia. Since 2015, the town halls of Münster and Osnabrück have held the European Heritage Label for this. A darker episode is told by the three cages on St. Lamberti's tower, in which the bodies of the Anabaptist leaders were displayed in 1536.Since 1977, the Skulptur Projekte have taken place every ten years, bringing art into the urban space. Some works have remained, such as Claes Oldenburg's Giant Pool Balls by Lake Aa. The next edition runs from June 13 to October 3, 2027.

    Nightlife

    1

    Beware

    Münster's oldest student pub in the Kuhviertel: rustic, with draught beer, regional dishes and outdoor seating.
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    2

    Gorilla Bar

    Compact bar in the Kuhviertel with gorilla motifs on red walls, karaoke, live football, and rock concerts.
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    3

    Sputnik Hall

    Club with a varied program depending on the day, from Rock, Indie, and Gothic to Electro, plus theme parties and concerts.
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    On the Go in Münster

    The main station is centrally located; from there, the Old Town is reachable on foot. Public transport is handled by Stadtwerke Münster's bus lines, whose network map also displays real-time data. However, cycling is the quickest option, with rental stations available city-wide.Münster/Osnabrück Airport is about 25 kilometers away; by bus or taxi, you'll reach the city center in about 30 minutes.

    Accommodations in Münster

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    Campgrounds in Münster

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    Nearby

    Münsterland & Westfalen

    Münsterland & Westfalen

    Münsterland, in the northwest of Westphalia, is a flat landscape of fields, pastures, small woodlands, and hedgerows, known as the Münsterland Park Landscape. Typical features are moated castles and palaces such as Burg Vischering, Schloss Nordkirchen, or Burg Anholt. The region comprises the districts of Borken, Coesfeld, Steinfurt, and Warendorf, as well as the city of Münster.Because the terrain is so flat, the best way to explore the area is by bike, for instance, on the 100 Castles Route, which links the region's castles and stately homes. The focal point is Münster, the only major city in Münsterland, featuring the Prinzipalmarkt, Cathedral, and the Friedenssaal, where history was made in 1648.
    Zeche Zollverein

    Zeche Zollverein

    The Zollverein Coal Mine in Essen-Stoppenberg, along with the Zollverein Coking Plant, has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since December 14, 2001. Its landmark is Shaft XII, which architects Fritz Schupp and Martin Kremmer designed in the New Objectivity style and which went into operation on February 1, 1932. Coal production ended on December 23, 1986, and the coking plant ran until 1993.In the former coal washery, the Ruhr Museum has been presenting the region's history since 2010. In the old boiler house, remodelled by Norman Foster and Heinrich Böll, the Red Dot Design Museum is located.
    Ruhr Area

    Ruhr Area

    The Ruhr Area is home to around 5.1 million people across 11 independent cities and 4 districts, including Duisburg, Essen, Bochum, and Dortmund. For over a century, coal and steel shaped the region, and in December 2018, Prosper-Haniel in Bottrop, Germany's last hard coal mine, ceased operations.Today, its industrial history is a major travel theme. The Route of Industrial Heritage connects the most important sites, especially the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2001. At Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, you can climb a blast furnace, and from Gasometer Oberhausen, you look out over the western Ruhr Area from a height of 117 meters. In 2010, the Ruhr Area was the European Capital of Culture.
    Gasometer Oberhausen

    Gasometer Oberhausen

    The Gasometer Oberhausen is 117 meters high and measures almost 68 meters in diameter. It was built between 1927 and 1929 as a gas holder, and was operational until 1988. Since its conversion in 1993/94, it has been considered Europe's highest exhibition hall, with approximately 7,000 square meters across three levels.You can reach the roof by external lift or via 592 steps. On a clear day, the view extends up to 35 kilometers over the western Ruhr area.
    Landscape Park Duisburg-North

    Landscape Park Duisburg-North

    An approximately 180-hectare park has emerged around an ironworks founded by August Thyssen in 1902 in Duisburg-Meiderich. The last blast furnace ceased operation in 1985, and the site has been publicly accessible since 1994.You can climb Blast Furnace 5 up to a viewing platform at a height of around 70 meters. In the former ore bunker, the Duisburg section of the Alpine Club has set up a climbing garden with approximately 400 routes and a via ferrata, and an old gasometer with 20,000 cubic meters of water serves as a diving center. In the evenings, Jonathan Park's light installation bathes the complex in colorful light.