Almost exactly 18 years ago, Münster was named the city with the highest quality of life in the world and received the British LivCom award. Since then, the Westphalian metropolis has become accustomed to landing top spots in a great variety of studies and rankings. And if you ride your “Leeze” (pronounced /leːtsɛ/)—your bike in the local vernacular—along the green Promenade, you’ll know why. The Promenade is Europe’s only cycle ring road and runs all around the city centre. From here it’s easy to reach anywhere within the city in a matter of minutes, such as the historic Prinzipalmarkt with its Gothic town hall where the 1648 Peace of Westphalia called an end to the Thirty Years’ War. Or the beautiful Münster Castle, former residence of the prince-bishop and now the seat of the University of Münster. Also just a stone’s throw away from the Promenade lies the city harbour, opened by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1899 and now bustling with people enjoying the sun and the culture in the summer. The same is true for the scenic Aasee lake that reaches almost all the way to the old town and invites cyclists to ride around it in under half an hour.
One thing is for sure, though: you’ll have plenty of company. There’s no other city in Germany where people cover as much ground by bike as they do in Münster. Of the 1.3 million or so journeys every day, 40 per cent are taken on the two wheeled steed—a rate three times higher than in all other comparably-sized cities in the country. And Münster wants to make the bike an even more attractive mode of transport for the smart age. The colour-gradient “Leezenflow” green wave assistant shows cyclists when the light will turn red several metres before they reach next junction. so they can simply adjust their speed and swish through a series of green lights.
Foto: Inner city with Promenade © FotoStuss, shutterstock
Smart city Münster.
Münster is on a mission to deliver sustainable, digital urban development, not just for the benefit of cyclists, but in all areas of life. In 2018, the city introduced its own sustainability strategy, and three years later it became a model project under the Smart Cities 2021 programme, with the Leezenflow just one of twelve innovative projects for which Münster was able to rake in federal funding. Other eligible projects include building a sensor-based network of environmental monitoring stations, advancing measures to expedite bus transport, and developing a digital twin for urban infrastructures.
It’s a good job, then, that Münster happens to be the most important ICT location in north Westphalia with nearly half of the people working in the sector doing so here. Münster University, along with the city’s twelve colleges, certainly makes the city an attractive place to do business in, with a total of 65,000 students turning into a constant stream of excellent talent.
Bechtle in Münster.
Bechtle made itself at home in the fast-growing and future-oriented region as early as 2000, and in 2016 moved into a new building with an unobstructed view of the small Friendensee lake where 83 people cater to traditional corporate IT needs, from IT systems integration and strategy consulting by Bechtle business architects, to providing hardware and software, planning and delivering IT projects, and also managed services concepts and running complete customer environments. Within this extensive service portfolio, there’s one thing that’s increasingly pushing front and centre—the cloud. “We see the cloud as a great opportunity that opens up new ways to win more customers and break into additional market segments. Our employees are the linchpin of this transformation, so naturally we invest heavily in their education and professional training,” says Klaus Pattai, Managing Director of Bechtle Münster.
Continuous learning plays a central role at the system house as it is. In September 2018, Bechtle Münster opened new rooms for its IT training centre, creating a highly modern 850 m² space for both colleagues and customers, featuring a conference room, cafeteria and VUE test centre stations. Bechtle partners with the world’s leading provider of electronic certification tests, Pearson VUE, giving training participants the opportunity to sit the certification exam as soon as they complete their course. It’s no surprise, then, that the training centre has garnered a slew of accolades, including the 5-star Premium certification of the European Association for Training Organisations e. V. (EATO). And of course, all participants enjoy a free rental bike for the duration of their course.
Picture: Bechtle Training center in Munster
Question? Answer.
Klaus Pattai
Geschäftsführer,
Bechtle IT-Systemhaus Münster
This is me in three words:
technophile, determined, enthusiastic
My motto:
Strength lies in (agile) calmness.
If I had a superpower:
I would do magic like Merlin, and I’d give everyone what they wanted.
My perfect day:
Waking up in the Caribbean followed by a day of laid-back sailing in beautiful weather.
My favourite city:
Funchal on Madeira for its great climate, wonderful nature and unique geography in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.
Things I can’t do without:
Streaming music.
The book on my nightstand:
Boris Herrmann’s “Alone between Sky and Sea”.
My most exciting project:
We were able to help a customer in the insurance sector migrate from Lotus Notes to Exchange Online and establish Microsoft Teams as a collaboration platform—not just all within a few months, but pulling it all off remotely on account of the pandemic, including the design, change management and rollout for 6,000+ users. That was a tremendous team effort.
Who I’d like to be for a day:
Jeff Bezos. On the day he went into space.
Our Munster.
Münster is steeped in a mix of history and future, a cultural it place and cyclists’ paradise, a bustling university town. Simply put, a great place to delve into the Westphalian way of life. Simone Pütter, team assistant in the Training Centre, and Sandra Köttgen, assistant to the managing director, tell us exactly where you can experience it.
SEE.
Münster Castle was the prince-bishop’s residence until 1803. Architect Johann Conrad Schlaun built the magnificent baroque structure for Münster’s penultimate prince-bishop, Maximilian Friedrich von Königsegg-Rothenfels. Today, it is the seat of the University of Münster, and the castle gardens are home to the botanical garden of the university’s institute of botany.
The Prinzipalmarkt square, nicknamed Münster’s “good parlour” is arguably the city’s most famous landmark and its traditional centre amid characteristic gabled houses and archways. This is where people come to shop, marvel, stroll and simply enjoy life.
Münster Cathedral is a dominating sight for its imposing size alone and can’t be missed even from a distance with its towers reaching over 55 metres into the sky. Inside you’ll find the astronomical clock that shows the phases of the moon and locations of the planets, and features a ten-bell chime.
SAVOUR.
Quite possibly Münster’s oldest inn, the Alte Gasthaus Leve has been around since 1607 and offers traditional Münster and Westphalian cuisine with a side of quaint and rustic ambience.
If you have a palate for fish, you’ll love the Sylt am Bült. Owner Hendrik Eggert will indulge visitors to this jewel of a seafood restaurant with all sorts of maritime delicacies, and sommelier Tommy Hergehahn has just the drop to tie it all together.
If you’re looking to pair dinner with a beautiful view of the Aasee, the modern Ristorante Il DiVino is a great place to do just that with a choice of excellent Italian dishes.
Picture: © Ristorante il DiVino
SLUMMING.
The modern Atlantic Hotel Münster is located in the immediate vicinity of the old town. The 224 stylish rooms create an inviting atmosphere with their warm earth tones. A special highlight: the sky bar on the top floor offers a wonderful view over Münster's rooftops.
The H4 Hotel in Stubengasse is even more centrally located. This comfortable accommodation with 138 rooms is just 400 meters from Prinzipalmarkt.
The urban Factory Hotel was built in 2008 in and around the listed walls of the former Germania Brewery. It has 144 beautifully designed rooms, two restaurants, a chic bar and nine different function rooms.
atlantic-hotels.com
h-hotels.com
factoryhotel-muenster.com
SHOP.
Münster's Ludgeristraße has everything your heart desires. The city's busiest shopping street starts at the southern end of Prinzipalmarkt (also one of the main shopping streets) and ends at Ludgeriplatz. Münster's shopping mile is one of the ten most visited shopping streets in Germany.
SIP.
Bars, cafés and pubs: Münster's city harbor has evolved from a goods transshipment point into a trendy district. Especially in summer, the harbor promenade invites visitors to stroll and linger on beautiful outdoor terraces on the waterfront.
For more than 25 years, Café Classique and master confectioner Ralf Ilgemann have been the address for creative cake ideas. With one of his extraordinary creations and a good cup of coffee, you can sit here with a wonderful view of the old trees in Linnenbrink's garden.
cafe-classique.de
MARVEL.
The MS Günther is located in the harbor of Münster and is a floating event location. Breakfast, mystery dinners or whiskey tastings can be enjoyed in comfort on the Dortmund-Ems Canal. Incidentally, the MS Günther is named after presenter Günther Jauch. The owner, Leon Windscheid, once won a million euros in his quiz show.
Worthwhile in any weather: The all-weather zoo with planetarium and natural history museum is a highlight for young and old. Visitors can feed elephants or walk with penguins.
ms-guenther.de
allweatherzoo.com
SPORTS.
Sports in Münster - how could it be otherwise - take place primarily on two wheels. The promenade, on which the entire old town can be circumnavigated, the Aasee and the Dortmund-Ems Canal invite you to take extensive bike tours. Our tip: The best place to park your bike is the bike station at the train station. Germany's largest bicycle parking garage has room for around 3,200 bikes. Rental bikes and a repair service are also available here.
radstation.de
WALK.
If you prefer to walk, explore the Rieselfelder. The 4.3-square-kilometer bird sanctuary offers several circular hiking trails and plenty of opportunities to observe the numerous bird species that live here.
Picture: Schloss Münster © Stadt Münster / Maren Kuiter
