"An old city full of youth" was once an advertising slogan for the city of Münster. And it continues to be true today, for the city's population of around 280,000 people also includes some 55,000 students at the University, the University of Applied Science, the Art Academy, and other institutes of further education.
The University of Münster was founded on 16 April 1780 by Franz Freiherr von Fürstenberg. Initially, there were 16 professors teaching in four faculties. When another university was established in Bonn in 1818, Münster lost two of its faculties and was then only allowed to call itself an "Academy". The title of "University" was not restored until 1902, when two more faculties were founded under Emperor Wilhelm II. And it is to him that the University owes its official title of "Westfälische Wilhems-Universität".
In 1945, the city was almost completely in ruins, and also the University was in chaos. However, teaching and research began again soon after the war, initially with 1,000 students, though by the 1949/50 winter semester, this number had already risen to 5,000).
Today, the University of Münster is one of the biggest universities in Germany. It is now possible to study around 100 different courses in 14 departments. Of the approx. 45,000 students at the University itself, about 3,300 are from abroad, helping to give the city an international flair. The University maintains numerous international partnership agreements and EU cooperation schemes with universities in other countries.
University institutes can be found in nearly all of the narrow streets of the mediaeval city centre.