Peace Hall

Inside Münster's Historic City Hall, the Peace Hall preserves an interior shaped by centuries of civic government and European diplomacy. Its walls are lined with richly carved Renaissance oak panelling dating from 1577, enclosing a chamber that originally served as the meeting place of the city council and a setting for judicial proceedings. Beneath the timber ceiling, carved benches and wall cupboards recall the room's former administrative functions. A Latin inscription above the council seating expresses a principle of impartial judgment: Audiatur et altera pars—“Let the other side also be heard.” The words reflect the hall's earlier role as a place where municipal authorities were expected to consider opposing arguments before reaching their decisions.

The woodwork incorporates an elaborate programme of carved figures and moral imagery. Created by local craftsmen during the late sixteenth century, the decorative reliefs depict scenes of human folly and misconduct, including drunkenness, quarrelling figures, and a soldier approaching a bagpipe-playing fool. Positioned among the seats and cupboards used by the city council, these images served as reminders of the weaknesses and temptations that could undermine sound judgment. Nearly seventy years after the Renaissance interior was completed, the chamber became associated with one of Europe's major diplomatic settlements. On May 15, 1648, the ratifications of the Peace of Münster were formally exchanged, confirming the agreement between Spain and the Dutch Republic and bringing the Eighty Years' War to an end. The treaty formed part of the wider Peace of Westphalia negotiations conducted in Münster and Osnabrück.

Above the carved panelling hangs a gallery of thirty-seven oil portraits depicting European rulers and diplomatic representatives associated with the peace negotiations. Acquired by the city council in 1649, the collection includes representations of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III, King Louis XIV of France, and King Philip IV of Spain, alongside the envoys who participated in the congress. The room also contains a decorative fireplace, historic furnishings, and objects connected with Münster's civic traditions. Among them is the Goldener Hahn, a seventeenth-century gilded silver drinking vessel shaped like a rooster, traditionally used to welcome distinguished guests. Another unusual object is a preserved human hand displayed with an old wooden chest, recalling the judicial customs and historical collections associated with the town hall.

The survival of the Peace Hall's Renaissance interior owes much to protective measures taken during the Second World War. Before the destruction of Münster's Historic City Hall in an air raid on October 28, 1944, the carved wooden panelling, portraits, and other valuable furnishings had been dismantled and removed to safety. Although the surrounding Gothic building was left in ruins, these original interior elements survived. Between 1950 and 1958, the city hall was reconstructed, and the historic woodwork and furnishings were returned to the restored chamber. Today, the Peace Hall is open to visitors as a museum and continues to host official receptions and diplomatic gatherings, including a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in November 2022. Within the reconstructed Gothic town hall, the surviving Renaissance interior remains a setting for civic ceremonies and international dialogue, connecting Münster's municipal history with the diplomatic events of 1648.