Münster
Center of Baroque Beauty
Northern Germany has always been a gateway of sorts with her busy ports of trade with Scandinavian countries and prominence in the Hanseatic League. Today the grand medieval homes and public buildings still stand in monument to the booming commerce of the Middle Ages.Münster uses its character and charm to create a link between tradition and modern lifestyles. In the historical core of the city, its long heritage has remained recognizable. The heart of the city and its main eye-catcher is the St. Paulus Dom (St. Paul's Cathedral) built over some 40 years on the threshold from Romanesque to Gothic with one of the most lavishly decorated naves in Germany.
You’ll also be delighted by the Prinzipalmarkt (Principal Market). Lined by houses with pointed roofs and arched pathways, it is one of Europe’s most beautiful inner-city squares. Don’t miss the St. Lambertikirche (St. Lamberti Church) and the Rathaus (Town Hall) with the historic Friedenssaal (Hall of Peace) where the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia brought an end to the Thirty Years’ War.That peace was reached by negotiation and compromise rather than by domination and defeat.
Also "must" attractions are the splendid Baroque buildings by Johann Conrad Schlaun, Westphalia's great Baroque master builder. His chief work is the Palace (Prince Bishop's Residence), now part of the University. The Erbdrostenhof (Erbdrosten Courtyard) and the St. Clemens-Kirche (St. Clemens' Church), reminiscent of the Italian Baroque, are further gems of his creative spirit. Together with the Dominikanerkirche (Dominican Church) they form the Barockinsel (Baroque Island) in the city center.
Münster’s museums and theaters offer lively culture, kept vibrant through actors, musicians, writers and artists who all contribute to the cultural Münster mixture.
The Rüschhaus House is both a jewel of late baroque architecture and a memorial to Annette von Droste-Hülshoff.
Münster's municipal port has developed from a goods trans-shipment center to the Creative Quay. Office buildings, art, culture, restaurants, and trendy clubs make sure there's a lot going on around the clock.
Münster´s
landmark is the "Rathaus" (Town Hall), a Gothic building with a high gable dating from the
mid-14th century. After being completely destroyed in the war it was
rebuilt as a near-replica of the original, in the wake of the initiative taken
by private businessmen and with the aid of donations made by the people of
Münster in the 1950s.
The "St. Clemens-Kirche" (St. Clemens' Church) is an important work of Baroque by Johann Conrad Schlaun and was once a part of a monastery and local hospital and forms a part of the
Münster's "Barockinsel" (Baroque Island). It was built by the Prince Bishop Clemens
August from 1745 - 1753.
A comfortable walk all around Münster
Since the
Middle Ages, the "Prinzipalmarkt" (Principal Market) has been Münster's main shopping street. 
The
three-aisled "Petrikirche" (St. Peter's Church) from the period between Gothic and early Renaissance
features a richly decorated north portal in the Renaissance style. Originally a
church of the Jesuits, it is today the school church of the Paulinum, the
oldest humanistic grammar school in Germany.
More than
30 farm houses and other structures - windmill, bake house, smithy, smoke
house, horse-driven grinding mill, village store, storage sheds, bee hives and
barns - have been transported from their original locations throughout
Westphalia to this village-style open-air museum on the shores of the "Aasee" (Aa Lake).
Visitors to the "Mühlenhof Freilichtmuseum" (Mühlenhof Open-Air Museum) can get an excellent idea of life on the farm, traditional customs and
crafts.
The “Kunstmuseum Pablo Picasso” (Museum of Pablo Picasso Art) displays over 800 of his drawings, prints and lithographic works in the neoclassical Adelshof. 