War and Peace in Münster

There is a certain irony that one encounters on Prinzipalmarkt or the main street in Münster. At one end of the cobblestone road in this north-west German city looms St Lamberts – a Gothic church dating back to the late 14th century. Three iron cages hang on the church tower. In the mid-16th century, the executed bodies of Anabaptist rebels were displayed in these cages as a warning to all thinking of insurrection. The Anabaptists [in 1530] had proclaimed Münster the New Jerusalem and made their leader the king. However, the Catholic bishop of the city managed to recapture Münster in a bloody massacre. So, the cages still hang on the tower of St. Lamberts Church – a grim reminder of the fate of the hapless rebels.
In sharp contrast to this episode of past violence, and just a very short walk down the street stands a historic Town Hall where PEACE is the operative word. It was here [more than a century after the Anabaptist rebellion] that an important treaty was signed marking the end of the Thirty Years’ War in Europe. This 1648 treaty also marked the birth of the Netherlands as a country. The Town Hall is also another 14th century Gothic building. Its characteristic gable is a Münster landmark.
During the 2nd World War many buildings in the city like the Town Hall and others were destroyed or damaged. They were rebuilt in the 1950s – some as exact replicas. The patrician homes on Prinzipalmarkt with their unique and charming gables are often photographed and understandably so. They are so distinctive and add so much character to the Münster skyline.
Münster is a bicyclists’ paradise and indeed it is the cycling capital of Germany. The first bicycle parking lot was built here in 1999 and many more stations have sprung up since then. Our very efficient and attentive host Reinhold Schmuecker of the University of Müenster rides his bike everywhere and as he points out [and rightly so] when crossing the street it is the bikes one has to watch out for.

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