Magic of Munster

AN autumn break in one of York's twin cities proved to be a real tonic. Munster, in northern Germany, was our destination and although it is about twice size of York we were pleasantly surprised at the lack of traffic jams and the efficient public transport system.

What impressed us even more was the fact that on the Sunday we were not competing with shoppers as we explored the sights. There is no Sunday shopping in this city - in fact during the week most of the shops stay open until 7pm and everything closes down at about lunchtime on Saturday.

We left York at 6am and travelled first class all the way by train to Munster. Our early departure from York gave us far more time in London than we needed for the transfer to Eurostar at Waterloo International. With more changes at Brussels and Koln (Cologne), we arrived at Munster just before 8pm (7pm UK time).

We had a booking for four nights in a very comfortable suite in the Kaiserhof, a four-crown hotel a short distance from the station, and were soon out in town looking for a restaurant for an evening meal.

We were spoilt for choice because our guide book listed many restaurants, alphabetically, and according to type of cuisine. We loved Wielers Kleiner Kiepenkerl, in Spiekerhof, which had atmosphere and good food ... and was very busy.

After church on Sunday morning we met up with a guide provided by the German Tourist Board. Carsten Sieck, an arts lecturer in the city, obviously loved Munster and was an enthusiastic guide.

Our two-and-a-half-hour tour started in the historic Peace Hall where Carsten told us that Munster is twinned with eight other cities and towns apart from York. This fits in very nicely with the city officials belief that the more you talk the more likely you are to be able to live in peace.

Yet Munster has had its bloody moments, and there is a perpetual reminder of one of these firmly fixed to the outside of the spire of one of the city's most beautiful churches, St Lambert's.

Early in the 16th century a strange sect known as Anabaptists seized control of what had been a Roman Catholic city. They regarded Munster as the New Jerusalem and imposed strict rules, including polygamy whereby men had to have several wives or face the possibility of being beheaded.

Troops controlled by the Roman Catholic bishop set siege to the city but the Anabaptists were able to hold out for 16 months.

When the city was eventually stormed the three principal leaders of the Anabaptists, including the self-appointed "king", were seized and subsequently tortured with red-hot tongs over a period of time before being stabbed to death. Their bodies were then put in three metal cages and fixed to the spire of St Lambert's.

Other churches worth visiting include the splendid cathedral and the beautiful baroque circular church of St Clemens, built between 1745 and 1753. It was totally destroyed in the Second World War and has been rebuilt with the aid of photographs.

The growth and development of Munster is illustrated in a series of scale models found in the Stadt Museum, built round a tempting ice cream parlour and above shops. The model for 1945 shows the city after Allied bombing raids - there are hardly any buildings left with roofs on.

One of the most attractive city centre streets is Prinzipalmarkt with its arcaded houses and shops, following the line of an early defensive wall.

Further out there used to be two defensive walls with two moats and these have now been replaced with an attractive walk and cycle way with gardens and stretches of water all round the city, linking a lake to the south-west with the former Bishop's Palace - now part of the university - in the west, plus a schlossgarten and botanical gardens.

Munster also has an all-weather zoo, with covered walkways for the visiting public, and it has a wide range of activities and events, including theatre and music, which are published monthly in a special guide.

In addition a leaflet covering the Advent period to December 23 features a series of special markets, Die Weihnachtsmarkte, open daily until 8pm from November 26 to December 23, and special lights in the Altstadt (old town) area.

Bikes are very much in evidence with huge swathes of parked bikes in the most unexpected places and we were told there are more bikes in Munster than people. But anyone caught riding one in a pedestrian zone faces a fine of 1,000 marks - the same fine as can be imposed on anyone caught feeding the pigeons!

Munster is a beautiful city and you can get about by walking, or cycling, but also by bus. The bus stops carry the statement "a bus from this bus stop every ten minutes".

Outside the railway station we frequently saw eight buses, all for different routes glide in at the same time on one side of the road and eight glide in on the other side of the road. They would wait for a minute or so while people changed buses or got on from the station before gliding off again. Hardly surprising to find that they were very well used.

For the journey back to York we left Munster at 7am, arriving at 5.30pm - then we had to queue 40 minutes for a taxi.

Welcome home...

Fact file:

GNER train from York to King's Cross, tickets, first class £98.58, standard class (special link fare for Eurostar ticket-holders, to Waterloo International with Underground ticket) £30 return.

Eurostar-Plus, from Waterloo to Brussels with add-on fare to Munster, first class (includes meal) £219 return; standard class £129 return.

Hotel Kaiserhof (four crowns) in Bahnhofstrasse, Munster (tel Munster 4 17 80). Single rooms 120DM a night, double rooms 85DM a night per person.

For GNER bookings ring 08457 225 225 or call at the Travel Centre at York Station.

For Eurostar-Plus bookings contact Rail Europe, at 179 Piccadilly, London W1, or phone 08705 848 848.