User:DanielSchwake/History of Münster

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The city of Münster in Westfalen, Germany, was founded 1200 years ago, yet its history goes even further in time, to the prehistoric inhabitants of the area and to the German tribes that settled in the region. Being the seat of a bishop and because of its importance during the Hanseatic period in Westfalen, Münster has become, and still is, the cultural, political and the economical center of its region, the Münsterland. The archive of the city was burnt down during the rule of the Anabaptists in the 16th century. Therefore the historical information of what has occurred earlier is based on documents from outside the city.

[edit] Prehistory

The city of Muenster doesn't belong to the area of the westfalian bay that is known for its rich prehistoric settlements. Excavators have found mere tools from the Stone Age. From the Bronze Age some daggers and grave adornments were found. Researchers where able to prove the continuity of the settlement throughout the Iron Age, though solely nearby the modern Muenster of today. A respectable finding was discovered in one the city's districts, the smithy swordlike iron bars are linked by historians to the Hallstatt or the La Tène culture