Neumünster, Germany

Neumünster is a city located in the middle of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, with a population of over 79,000 registered inhabitants. The city is the fourth-largest municipality in Schleswig-Holstein, behind Kiel, Lübeck, and Flensburg. The Holstenhallen and Stadthalle have made the city an important trade fair location. The city has a rich history, having been formally mentioned as Wippendorp im Gau Faldera in 1127. The Bishop Vicelinus was sent there by the Archbishop of Bremen in that year to perform missionary work. By 1136, Vicelinus built a new monastery there, and the name Novum monasterium eventually replaced the previous names of Wippendorf and Faldera, leading to the current name of Neumünster. In April 1870, Neumünster received town privileges, and since 1903, it has been a so-called independent city or kreisfreie Stadt, as it is not part of a district (kreis).Neumünster was bombed multiple times by Allied forces in 1945, partly because of its importance as a railway junction and industrial city. The British took control of the city in May 1945. Today, the city is divided into nine neighborhoods: Böcklersiedlung-Bugenhagen, Brachenfeld-Rutenberg, Einfeld, Faldera, Gadeland, Gartenstadt, Stadtmitte, Tungendorf, and Wittorf. Neumünster station is a major railway junction with lines running in six (formerly seven) directions, including the important Hamburg-Altona–Kiel and Neumünster–Flensburg lines. The city has an airfield and a hospital. The Museum Tuch + Technik showcases the history of the cloth-making craft from the Iron Age to the present day, as well as the history of the city of Neumünster. The Herbert Gerisch Foundation is an art foundation established in 2001 by Brigitte and Herbert Gerisch and based in Neumünster-Brachenfeld, serving the care, promotion, and presentation of regional as well as international contemporary art. The Tierpark Neumünster houses about 700 animals from a total of 100 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles on a wooded area of 24 hectares. The raised bog Dosenmoor near Einfeld northeast of Neumünster has an area of 521 hectares and is the largest and best-preserved raised bog in Schleswig-Holstein. The city’s current mayor is Tobias Bergmann of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).