Münster

Germany

Münster, the historic capital of Westphalia in northwestern Germany, grew from the mission of Ludger, whom Charlemagne sent to the region in 793 and who became its first bishop. The city was a leading member of the Hanseatic League. In 1534-1535 an Anabaptist movement held the city until it was retaken, and in 1648 part of the Peace of Westphalia, ending the Thirty Years' War, was signed there. The anatomist and geologist Nicolas Steno served as its auxiliary bishop from 1680 to 1683. The University of Münster, founded in 1780, is a major research centre, where Karl Rahner held the chair of dogmatic theology from 1967 to 1971. Bombing destroyed much of the city in the Second World War.