Münster is well-known as Germany's bicycle capital – statistically speaking, there are two bicycles to every inhabitant! The historic city centre, Lake Aa and the moated castles in the region have made Münster very popular among residents and students alike.

Münster (German: [ˈmʏnstɐ]; Westphalian: Mönster) is an independent city (Kreisfreie Stadt) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region.

In 1535 Münster was captured by an army of Catholics and Protestants, and in 1536 the Anabaptists' “king,” John of Leiden (Jan Beuckelson), was executed with two of his accomplices; the iron cages in which their bodies were publicly exhibited still hang in the Gothic tower of St. Lambert's Church.

Münster's roots can be traced back to the 6^th century AD. However, the city officially came into existence in 793, when Frisian missionary Liudger founded the “Monasterium” cloister. Münster became a cathedral city as early as 805, and the city remains an active centre of the Roman-Catholic church.