Germany Trip – Day 8: Münster, Osnabrück, and Bielefeld

By the time my last full day in Germany came around, I had run out of cities to visit in the neighbourhood of Cologne. Therefore, I decided to venture a little farther out and took a train to Münster. This German city is best known for its centrality to the Peace of Westphalia: It is where negotiations began in 1641, taking almost seven years to reach a conclusion. One frustrated participant reportedly paraphrased Shakespeare’s Tempest, remarking that “Hell is empty, and all the devils are in Münster.”

Two agreements were made in Münster: The Peace of Münster and the Treaty of Münster. The former marked the end of the Eighty Years’ War between the Spanish Empire and the Dutch Republic, confirming the independence of the Netherlands. The latter ended the war between France and the Holy Roman Empire, which began in 1635 as part of the broader series of conflicts known as the Thirty Years’ War. Another treaty was also signed in the city of Osnabrück ending the war between the Holy Roman Empire and Sweden, which also began in 1630 as part of the Thirty Years’ War.

Less well known, perhaps, is another episode of the city’s history known as the Münster rebellion, during which an Anabaptist sect briefly set up a proto-socialistic theocracy. In the single year that the Anabaptists were in power, they destroyed a number of icons, burned all books but the Bible, gave the property of emigrants to the poor, forcibly re-baptised the whole population, and made polygamy compulsory for men.

Münster is a pleasant city with a well-preserved historic centre. Its main sights are connected by roads lined with beautiful townhouses, many of them with ornate or otherwise distinctive facades. Probably the most important building in Münster is the dramatic city hall, which reaches towards the sky with its multiple levels of ornamental towers. Inside, one can still visit the “Hall of Peace” where negotiations were held throughout the 1640s. Clad in intricately carved wooden panels, the room has paintings of all the important participants, as well as a few related artifacts like the city’s ornamental chalice in the shape of a rooster.

Of course, Münster also boasts a number of churches. Closest to the train station stands the Clemenskirche, after which one reaches Sankt Lamberti. This is the church from which cages with the bodies of the Anabaptist rebel leaders were hung. Farther still stands the imposing Saint Paul Cathedral. Its most notable feature is an astronomical clock from the sixteenth century, which I just so happened to see in use (as is the case with other such structures, a statue of death rings a bell as a memento mori). Münster also has a palace, but I am not aware of its being significant for any reason.

After finishing my tour of Münster, I continued to Osnabrück. While this city’s role in bringing about an end to the Thirty Years’ War was not as significant, Osnabrück can still rightly pride itself on being a city of peace, as it is the birthplace of the famous pacifist novelist Erich Maria Remarque. Following the Peace of Westphalia, Osnabrück became officially bi-confessional, with the prince-bishopric alternating between the Catholics and Lutherans.

Of course, Osnabrück has its own palace, which is somewhat friendlier than the one in Münster thanks to its inviting green lawn. The city centre is also very quaint, with many timber-frame and even some fully wooden houses lining the streets. The streets, I should also remark, are much narrower in the old city than they are in Münster, giving the town a more intimate atmosphere. Osnabrück’s town hall is as distinctive as Münster’s, but instead of jutting ornamental towers it has a dramatically sloping gothic roof.

With much daylight remaining, I decided that I could make one last stop before returning to Cologne for my final night in Germany. Perhaps surprisingly, I resolved on visiting Bielefeld. Bielefeld is not known for anything; it is a sizeable city with a respectable history and a few nice buildings, but there is nothing out of the ordinary about it. In fact, Bielefeld is such an emblem of normalcy that it became subject to a mock conspiracy in the 1990s claiming that Bielefeld does not exist. The authors of the conspiracy asked the German public to think about whether they themselves had ever been to Bielefeld, knew anyone from there, or even knew anyone who had been there. Most people were presumed to answer no, and probably with good reason.

Nevertheless, I believe that I have been to Bielefeld, or at least I claim so here, which means I must be part of the conspiracy or its victim. Be that as it may, I found the city quite nice. To the south of the old town, Sparrenberg Castle perches on a hillock from which the spires of the city can be seen. These include the Nicolaikirche in the old town and the Marienkirche right under the hill. Similarly to Münster and Osnabrück, Bielefeld also has a few nice townhouses with ornate facades, though there are fewer of them than in the other two. Just like the other two, however, Bielefeld has a very impressive city hall. Of course, nothing important was ever signed there, furnishing further evidence for Bielefeld’s non-existence.