Prince-Bishopric of Münster

Origins

The Frisian missionary Liudger founded a monastery at Mimigernaford around 793 and became the first bishop of Münster in 805. The bishops acquired counties across Westphalia, and after Henry the Lion fell in 1180 they ruled as imperial princes. Their lands later stretched from the Lippe to the Ems and beyond to the Dutch border.

Rule and society

The cathedral chapter and estates kept a strong voice beside the bishop. In 1534 to 1535 radical Anabaptists under Jan van Leiden turned the city into a theocratic kingdom until Bishop Franz von Waldeck retook it after a siege. The territory remained firmly Catholic. Christoph Bernhard von Galen waged wars against the Dutch Republic, and in the 18th century the minister Franz von Fürstenberg reformed schools and founded the university.

Decline and legacy

The Peace of Westphalia was negotiated partly in Münster in 1648. The see was secularised in 1802 to 1803 and divided, with the largest share going to Prussia and smaller parts to Oldenburg, Salm and Arenberg. Münster became capital of the Prussian Province of Westphalia.