Editing Münster (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Münster}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of Münster}}

===Early history===
In 793, [[Charlemagne]] sent out [[Ludger]] as a missionary to evangelise the [[Münster (region)|Münsterland]].<ref name="Münster793-1800">{{cite web |url=http://www.muenster.de/stadt/tourismus/en/history_till1800.html |title=793 to 1800 |publisher=Stadt Münster |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927112518/http://www.muenster.de/stadt/tourismus/en/history_till1800.html |archive-date=27 September 2011 |access-date=20 April 2011}}</ref> In 797, Ludger founded a school that later became the Cathedral School.<ref name="Münster793-1800"/> [[Gymnasium Paulinum]] traces its history back to this school.<ref name="Münster793-1800"/> Ludger was ordained as the first [[bishop of Münster]].<ref name="Münster793-1800"/> The first cathedral was completed by 850.<ref name="Münster793-1800"/> The combination of [[Ford (crossing)|ford]] and crossroad, market place, episcopal administrative centre, library and school, established Münster as an important centre.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kirchensite.de/index.php?myELEMENT=78003 |title=Vita des heiligen Liudgers |language=de |trans-title=Resume of the holy Liudgers |website=Kirchensite.de |access-date=18 November 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110235446/http://kirchensite.de/index.php?myELEMENT=78003 |archive-date=10 January 2009 }}</ref> In 1040, [[Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor|Heinrich III]] became the first king of Germany to visit Münster.<ref name="Münster793-1800"/>

===Middle Ages and early modern period===
In the [[Middle Ages]], the [[Prince-Bishopric of Münster]] was a leading member of the [[Hanseatic League]].<ref name="Münster793-1800"/>

{{wide image|Muenster Braun-Hogenberg.jpg|1000px|View from the south-west of Münster in 1570 as seen by [[Remigius Hogenberg]]. On the left is the [[Überwasserkirche]], in the centre is [[Münster Cathedral|St. Paul's Cathedral]] and to its right [[Saint Lambert's Church, Münster|St. Lamberti]], and on the far right is the Ludgerikirche.}}

In 1534, an apocalyptic [[Anabaptism|Anabaptist]] sect, led by [[John of Leiden]], took power in the [[Münster rebellion]] and founded a democratic proto-socialistic state. They claimed all property, burned all books except the Bible, and called it the "New Jerusalem". John of Leiden believed he would lead the elect from Münster to capture the entire world and purify it of evil with the sword in preparation for the [[Second Coming of Christ]] and the beginning of the Millennium. They went so far as to require all citizens to be naked as preparation for the Second Coming. However, the town was recaptured in 1535; the Anabaptists were tortured to death and their corpses were exhibited in metal baskets, which can still be seen hanging from the tower of [[St Lambert's Church, Münster|St. Lambert's Church]].<ref name="Münster793-1800"/>

Part of the signing of the [[Peace of Westphalia]] of 1648 was held in Münster.<ref name="Münsterhistory">{{cite web |title=A foray into town history |url=http://www.muenster.de/stadt/tourismus/en/history.html |publisher=Stadt Münster |access-date=20 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927112504/http://www.muenster.de/stadt/tourismus/en/history.html |archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref> This ended the [[Thirty Years' War]] and the [[Eighty Years' War]].<ref name="Münsterhistory"/> It also guaranteed the future of the prince-bishop and the diocese; the area was to be exclusively [[Roman Catholic]].

===18th, 19th and early 20th centuries===
[[File:Muenster1.jpg|thumb|Photo of the Prinzipalmarkt in 1900]]

The last outstanding palace of the German baroque period, the [[Schloss Münster]], was created according to plans by [[Johann Conrad Schlaun]].<ref name="Münster793-1800"/> The [[University of Münster]] (called "Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster", WWU, between 1907 and 2023) was established in 1780. It is now a major European centre for excellence in education and research with large faculties in the arts, humanities, theology, sciences, business and law. Currently there are about 40,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}} In 1802 Münster was conquered by [[Prussia]] during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. It was also part of the [[Grand Duchy of Berg]] between 1806 and 1811 and the [[Lippe (department)|Lippe]] department of the [[First French Empire]] between 1811 and 1813, before returning to Prussian rule. It became the capital of the Prussian [[province of Westphalia]]. In 1899 the city's harbour started operations when the city was linked to the [[Dortmund-Ems Canal]].

===World War II===
[[File:MuensterPrinzipalmarkt1945.jpg|thumb|upright|Photo of part of the Prinzipalmarkt area around St. Lambert's church in 1945]]
In the 1940s the Bishop of Münster, Cardinal [[Clemens August Graf von Galen]], was one of the most prominent critics of the Nazi government. In retaliation for his success (''[[The New York Times]]'' described Bishop von Galen as "the most obstinate opponent of the National Socialist anti-Christian program"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.30giorni.it/us/articolo.asp?id=4292 |title=The Lion of Münster and Pius XII |website=30Days |access-date=20 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019185006/http://www.30giorni.it/us/articolo.asp?id=4292 |archive-date=19 October 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>), Münster was heavily garrisoned during World War II, and five large complexes of barracks are still a feature of the city. Münster was the headquarters (Hauptsitz) for the 6th Military District (Wehrkreis) of the German Wehrmacht, under the command of Infantry General (General der Infanterie) [[Gerhard Glokke]]. Originally made up of [[Westphalia]] and the [[Rhineland]], after the [[Battle of France]] it was expanded to include the [[Eupen]] – [[Malmedy]] district of [[Belgium]]. The headquarters controlled military operations in Münster, [[Essen]], [[Düsseldorf]], [[Wuppertal]], [[Bielefeld]], [[Coesfeld]], [[Paderborn]], [[Herford]], [[Minden]], [[Detmold]], [[Lingen]], [[Osnabrück]], [[Recklinghausen]], [[Gelsenkirchen]], and [[Cologne]].

Münster was the home station for the [[VI Corps (Germany)|VI]] and [[XXIII Corps (Germany)|XXIII Infantry Corps]] (Armeekorps), as well as the XXXIII and LVI [[Panzerkorps]]. Münster was also the home of the [[1st Light Division (Germany)|6th]], [[16th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|16th]] and [[25th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|25th Panzer Division]]; the [[16th Panzergrenadier Division (Germany)|16th]] [[Panzergrenadier]] Division; and the [[6th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|6th]], [[26th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|26th]], [[69th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|69th]], [[86th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|86th]], [[106th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|106th]], [[126th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|126th]], [[196th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|196th]], [[199th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|199th]], [[211th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|211th]], [[227th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|227th]], [[253rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|253rd]], [[254th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|254th]], [[264th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|264th]], [[306th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|306th]], [[326th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|326th]], [[329th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|329th]], [[336th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|336th]], [[371st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|371st]], [[385th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|385th]], and [[716th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|716th]] Infantry Divisions (Infanterie-division).

Münster was the location of the Oflag VI-D [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|prisoner-of-war camp]] mostly for [[French prisoners of war in World War II|French]], but also some Polish and Soviet officers,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Megargee|first1=Geoffrey P.|last2=Overmans|first2=Rüdiger|last3=Vogt|first3=Wolfgang|year=2022|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV|publisher=Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|page=248|isbn=978-0-253-06089-1}}</ref> and a Nazi prison with several [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] subcamps in the city and other localities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100000091|title=Zuchthaus Münster
|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=6 August 2024|language=de}}</ref>

The city was hit in one of the 1st “City Busting” Missions of the U.S. [[8th Air Force]] on October 10, 1943. Much of the city center and the railway yard was heavily damaged in the raid but heavy casualties were inflicted against the American heavy bombers with the [[100th Bomb Group]] losing 13 of the 14 B-17s that took part in the raid.

{{anchor|Allied air attacks}}A secondary target of the [[Oil Campaign of World War II]], Münster was bombed on 25 October 1944 by 34 diverted [[B-24 Liberator]] bombers, during a mission to a nearby primary target, the [[Scholven Power Station|Scholven]]/[[Buer, Germany|Buer]] synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen. About 63 per cent of the city including 91 per cent of the Old City was destroyed by Allied air raids.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Munster Raid: Before and After |isbn=978-0917678493 |author=Ian L. Hawkins |year=1999|publisher=FNP Military Division }}</ref> The US [[17th Airborne Division (United States)|17th Airborne Division]], fighting as infantry, attacked Münster with the British [[6th Guards Tank Brigade (United Kingdom)|6th Guards Tank Brigade]] on 2 April 1945 and fought its way into the city centre, which was captured in house-to-house fighting on the following day.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stanton |first=Shelby |title=World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939–1946 |publisher=Stackpole Books |year=2006 |page=97}}</ref>

===Postwar period===
From 1946 to 1998, there was a Latvian secondary school in Münster,<ref>{{cite web | last =Ebdene | first =Aija | title =Greetings to all users of the Guide worldwide from the Latvian Community in Germany (LKV) | work =A Guide for Latvians Abroad | publisher =LKV | date =9 February 2005 | url =http://www.tm.gov.lv/lv/noderigi/sabiedribas_integracija/celvedis_eng_indd.pdf | access-date =8 November 2010 | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110722161942/http://www.tm.gov.lv/lv/noderigi/sabiedribas_integracija/celvedis_eng_indd.pdf | archive-date =22 July 2011 }}</ref> and in 1947, one of the largest of about 93 Latvian libraries in the West was established in Münster.<ref>{{cite web | last =Smith | first =Inese |author2=Štrāle, Aina | title =Witnessing and Preserving Latvian Culture in Exile: Latvian Libraries in the West | work =Library History, Volume 22, Number 2 – pp. 123–135(13) | publisher =Maney Publishing | date =July 2006 | url =http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/lbh/2006/00000022/00000002/art00004?crawler=true | access-date =8 November 2010 }}</ref> In the 1950s the Old City was rebuilt to match its pre-war state, though many of the surrounding buildings were replaced with cheaper modern structures. It was also for several decades a garrison town for the British forces stationed in West Germany.

===Post-reunification===
In 2004, Münster won an honourable distinction: the LivCom-Award for the most livable city in the world with a population between 200,000 and 750,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livcomawards.com/previous-winners/2004.htm |title=LivCom website, page for 2004 awards. |access-date=27 January 2010 |publisher=livcomawards.com}}</ref> Münster is famous and liked for its bicycle friendliness and for the student character of the city that is due to the influence of its university, the [[University of Münster]].<ref>{{cite web |title=With history into the future |url=http://www.muenster.de/stadt/umwelt/pdf/livcom2004.pdf |publisher=Stadt Münster |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518140904/http://www.muenster.de/stadt/umwelt/pdf/livcom2004.pdf |archive-date=18 May 2011}}</ref><ref>10-minute [[DivX]] coded film: [http://www.muenster.de/stadt/umweltamt/livcom/livcom2004_320.avi the 48mb-version] or [http://www.muenster.de/stadt/umweltamt/livcom/livcom2004.avi the 87mb-version] from the official Münster-homepage.</ref>