Historical City Hall (Rathaus)

The Rathaus on the Prinzipalmarkt is one of the finest Gothic civic buildings in Westphalia — an elegant structure of pinnacles and tracery that was almost completely destroyed in the war and meticulously rebuilt in the 1950s. The interior, particularly the Friedenssaal (Peace Hall), is open to visitors; the original 17th-century panelling, portraits, and furnishings survived the war and were reinstalled in the reconstruction. Standing in the room where the Peace of Westphalia was signed in 1648 is a genuinely affecting experience.

The Prinzipalmarkt itself — the arcaded street fronting the Rathaus — is Münster's most handsome set-piece, its Gothic gabled fronts reflected in the paving on a clear day. Almost entirely rebuilt after wartime destruction, it shows what a sustained commitment to historical reconstruction can achieve.

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A story
On 24 October 1648, in the Peace Hall (Friedenssaal) of this building, the negotiations that ended the Thirty Years' War were concluded with the Peace of Westphalia. The war had killed between a quarter and a third of the German-speaking population in three decades of religious and dynastic conflict. The treaty signed here is often cited as the foundation of the modern system of sovereign nation-states and the principle of non-interference in each other's affairs.

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