Tri-national concert: Israel - Germany - Poland: Connected by Culture

The Choir of the Catholic University of Lublin, the Lublin Music Theatre, the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion and the Münster Symphony Orchestra - a total of 160 musicians - performed Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection" in two countries and three cities. The musical director was Golo Berg. The tri-national music project thus sent a strong signal for peace, solidarity, and tolerance. In Münster, the gigantic music piece could be enjoyed on the 1st of September in the St. Paul’s Cathedral. In the context of the Russia’s current war against the Ukraine, the concert was of special significance: On the one hand, the choir of the Catholic University of Lublin was supported by singers from Ukraine who have found accommodation in Lublin. On the other hand the concert has gained a special significance, due to the reason that the first concert of the multinational orchestra took place on the anniversary of the invasion of Poland by the German Wehrmacht in 1939. Just over eight decades ago, the world was drowning in the chaos and suffering of the Second World War, in which over 60 million people fell victim. Today our peoples are making music together!

The brochure on the concert unfortunately contains an error in the print version. Here you can download the corrected version: Cover picture of the brochure "Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 2"  (PDF, 4.33 MB)

Trinational Mobility Forum

From 23-26 June,  2022 delegations from our twin cities Orléans and Kristiansand were guests in Münster. Together with experts from Münster, there was an international exchange of experiences on the topic of mobility. A wide-ranging programme with practical experiences and discussions awaited all participants. Urban transport concepts were compared in order to advance future planning, possibly also in a synergetic way. The guests were welcomed by the International Office and the Department for Mobility and Civil Engineering.
Official press release

Twin City Games 2021

"Experience sport together for fair play in an international context" was the motto of this year's Twin City Games in Münster. For the first time since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, an event with real international encounters took place. The anticipation for the event was huge. Some of the foreign guests even accepted a quarantine after returning home. For five days, young people from Enschede (NL), Kristiansand (NO), Lublin (PL), Rishon LeZion (ISR) and Münster exchanged sports and ideas together. In addition to sports activities in multinational teams, there were workshops on the topics of fair trade and fair play. The highlight of the encounter was the sports festival on the sports campus of the WWU. The Twin City Games were organized in cooperation with the City Sports Association Münster and the University Sports Center Münster. The meeting was sponsored by the Minister of Europe of North Rhine-Westphalia through the program "Europe at Home". For the production of the jerseys and gym bags for the participants, attention was paid to sustainability and fair trade. A big thank you to Vamos e.V. and WEED e. V. for organizing the workshops.

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1945 – 2020: 75 years of peace

Commemoration after the World War II

The year 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Causing over 60 million deaths, the Second World War was the bloodiest conflict in the history of the world. A war that was started in Germany brought horror over Europe and the whole world. The majority of Germans stands by the historical responsibility that arises from this war. As a city of peace, Münster wanted to take on this responsibility in particular. Together with its twin towns, the city of Münster commemorated the terrible events on November 20 and at the same time set a sign for peace in Europe and worldwide. Due to the corona pandemic, the memorial event took place via video conference.
Impressions from the video conference

Music makes it possible: an interreligious dialogue!

In the context of the 101st German Catholic Day, the International Office of the City of Münster launched the project “Music makes it possible: an interreligious dialogue!”. Young musicians from Münster’s twin towns were invited to participate in the project. A young guitar trio from Lublin, a young rock band from Rishon LeZion, and a student chamber choir from Ryazan accepted the invitation from Münster. The young musicians spent five days together making music and continuing their intercultural and interreligious training. They all had a lot of fun together and made new friends.

Migration in my town

Between March 13 and 16, 2018, administrative staff, volunteers, and migrants from Enschede, Kristiansand, Mühlhausen, and Münster got together to exchange their ideas in various migration workshops. At the end of the project, the results were presented at a public event.

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Active Inclusion in Europe

From November 3 to 6, 2016, an international inclusive dancing event took place with dance groups from Münster’s twin towns. During the four-day project, people danced and celebrated together. More than 100 participants from York, Lublin, Kristiansand, Ryazan, Monastir, and Mühlhausen with or without physical or mental handicap took part in different workshops and a dancing event in the LWL museum. The highlight of the meeting was the flash mob in the foyer of the museum. The Münster associations “Lebenshilfe e.V.”, “Funky e.V.”, “Die Residenz Münster e.V.“ were involved as project partners. The project was funded by the EU programme “Citizens for Europe”.

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Concert weekend with choirs from Münster and the twin towns

The year 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. On this occasion, the City of Münster and the Münster Choir Association organised an international choir event. Fifteen choirs from Münster and its twin towns took part in the event. Overall, twelve open-air concerts took place in the city centre, seven bi-national concerts, three musical services, and one large concert in the auditorium at the Aasee.

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