Review | Stadt Münster

375 Years Peace Of Westphalia - The Year In Review

2023 marked the 375th anniversary of the end of the Thirty Years' War and the the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia. A wide range of stakeholders from across the city's society celebrated this occasion in cooperation with the City of Münster with a year full of events.

The year was structured by the four central highlights: the opening week in May, the nationwide opening of the Open Monument Day on September 10, the Dialogues on Peace with scientific conferences and the Pupils' Academy and School Action Week, as well as the highlight "THE ANNIVERSARY!" on the historic date of the signing of the peace treaties on October 24th.

375 years Peace of Westphalia: THE ANNIVERSARY!

On October 24, we approached the topic of peace from very different perspectives: the young town hall discussion "Let's Talk: Peace beyond Borders", the traditional ecumenical peace-vespers, the Westphalian Peace Summit and the emotional audiovisual production "Longing for Peace".

Longing for Peace

Several thousand people came to Prinzipalmarkt on October 24, 2023 to see the impressive open-air production. We are still deeply impressed by the pictorial journey that artist Michael Batz has brought to the gabled houses. A truly magnificent conclusion to an eventful anniversary year.

Let's Talk: Peace Beyond Borders (event in full length)

The perspective of young people was and is at the heart of the 375th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia. For this reason, an interactive young debate with international guests kicked of "THE ANNIVERSARY". It was organized by MUIMUN in cooperation with the city of Münster. The event brought together a variety of viewpoints and explored different concepts and approaches to peace in our complex global world. It was divided into three different formats: Discussion, Interview with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee and subsequent Town Hall Debate, in which the audience participated in lively discussions.

Westphalian Peace Summit 2023 (event in full length)

Global perspectives on peace. A discussion with international guests.

Selected pictures of the events

Here we present pictures and reports of selected events of the Year of Peace. Like the program itself, this review also depends on your participation: If you would like to include pictures and reports of your events on this page, please send them to us at friedensbuero@stadt-muenster.de. In this way, our review can continue to grow.

Human Chain

On February 24, the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 20,000 people between Münster and Osnabrück sent a clear signal for peace. Further information and pictures can be found under this link.

Opening

The core time of the jubilee began on May 12 with the Peace-Movement, the Peace-Encounter, the Peace-Point, the Peace-Singing and the Peace-Sounds. Details and pictures can be found following the links.

Day of the Netherlands

On May 15, the historic day of the ratification of the Peace of Münster, a day of German-Dutch encounters took place. Information and pictures can be found here.

The nationwide opening of the Open Monument Day

Germany's largest cultural event opened in Münster on September 10. In addition to a stage program on Lambertikirchplatz and a market of opportunities on Prinzipalmarkt, almost 100 monuments in the city opened their doors. Pictures and further information can be found here.

The Westphalian Peace Conference

375 years after the Peace of Westphalia, international politicians met with entrepreneurs and political scientists in Münster's historic town hall to discuss the global consequences of Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine. Participants included Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius and Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kiev. The event was organized by the Wirtschaftliche Gesellschaft Westfalen Lippe. Further information can be found here.

Bewegender Abschluss des Programms „DAS JUBILÄUM“ zum 375. Jahrestag des Westfälischen Friedens: die Große Licht- und Klanginstallation „Longing for Peace“ am Abend des 24. Oktober auf dem Prinzipalmarkt.

THE ANNIVERSARY

On October 24th, the historic date of the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia, we honored the anniversary with a variety of events: the Book of Peace, Let's Talk: Peace Beyond Borders, the Ecumenical Peace Vespers, the Westphalian Peace Summit and Longing for Peace. The 24th of October was organized and sponsored (among others) by the IHK Nord Westfalen, the Stiftung Westfalen-Initiative, the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics" and the cities of Münster and Osnabrück.