What you need to know about Munster

Münster is an independent city (Kreisfreie Stadt) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland. Münster was the location of the Anabaptist rebellion during the Protestant Reformation and the site of the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years’ War in 1648. Today it is known as the bicycle capital of Germany.

Münster gained the status of a Großstadt (major city) with more than 100,000 inhabitants in 1915. As of 2014, there are 300,000 people living in the city, with about 61,500 students, only some of whom are recorded in the official population statistics as having their primary residence in Münster.

Currency

Geography

Münster is situated on the river Aa, approximately 15 kilometres (9 miles) south of its confluence with the Ems in the Westphalian Bight, a landscape studded with dispersed settlements and farms, the so-called “Münsterland”. The Wolstonian sediments of the mountain ridge called “Münsterländer Kiessandzug” cross the city from north to south. The highest elevation is the Mühlenberg in the northwest of Münster, 97 metres above sea level. The lowest elevation is at the Ems with 44 m above sea level. The city centre is 60 m above sea level, measured at the Prinzipalmarkt in front of the historic city hall.

The Dutch city of Enschede is about 65 km (40 mi) northwest of Münster. Other major cities nearby include Osnabrück, about 44 km (27 mi) to the north, Dortmund, about 61 km (38 mi) to the south, and Bielefeld, about 62 km (39 mi) to the east.

Münster is one of the 42 agglomeration areas and one of Germany’s biggest cities in terms of area. But this includes substantial sparsely populated, rural districts which were formerly separate local government authorities until they were amalgamated in 1975. Thus, nearly half the city’s area is agricultural, resulting in a low population density of approximately 900 inhabitants per km².

Climate

A well-known saying in Münster is “Entweder es regnet oder es läuten die Glocken. Und wenn beides zusammen fällt, dann ist Sonntag” (“Either it rains or the church bells ring. And if both occur at the same time, it’s Sunday.”), but in reality, the rainfall with approximately 758 mm (29.8 inches) per year is close to the average rainfall in Germany. The perception of Münster as a rain-laden city isn’t caused by the absolute amount of rainfall but by the above-average number of rainy days with relatively small amounts of rainfall. The average temperature is 9.4 °C (48.9 °F) with approximately 1500 sun hours per year. Consequently, Münster is in the bottom fifth in comparison with other German cities. The winter in Münster is fairly mild and snowfall is unusual. The temperature during summertime meets the average in Germany. The highest daily rainfall was registered on 28 July 2014: One weather station of the MeteoGroup reported a rainfall of 122.2 l/m2 (2.50 imp gal/sq ft) the State Environment Agency registered at one of its stations 292 l/m2 (6.0 imp gal/sq ft) for seven hours. The record rainfall led to severe flooding throughout the city and the nearby Greven.

Economy

The city is considered the “creative desk of Westphalia”. Greater Münster is home to many industries such as those of public authorities, consulting companies, insurance companies, banks, computer centres, publishing houses, advertising and design. The service sector has created several thousand jobs. Retailers have approximately 1.9 billion euro turnover. The city still has traditional merchants’ townhouses as well as modern outlets.

The job market situation in Münster is “comparatively good”. Of the approximately 130,000 employees subject to social insurance contribution more than 80% work in the tertiary sector, about 17% work in the secondary sector and 1% work in the primary sector.