Trip to Münster 2011
After the outstanding tour to Cologne last year, advisory board member Dr. Paul Rheinländer and his wife Angelika, invited the IGSN students this year for a trip to the picturesque and historic town of Münster. A bus was waiting on the morning of June 21st at the Ruhr-University to bring us to a guided tour through the heart of Münster. The guide to the city had some interesting and funny facts for the students: did you know that every bike owner in Münster will have his bike stolen 6.2 times in his lifetime? A historic atmosphere was found in the peace hall (Friedenssaal) where the Thirty Years` War came to an end. And we particularly enjoyed trying out Pumpernickel (dark Westphalian bread) and Westphalian Schnaps from a tin-spoon….
But the next surprise was just around the corner. The bus brought us to the “dockland area” (Hafenviertel): a former industrial part of the town of Münster, which is now a trendy new quarter for artists of all kinds. The founder and owner of “Coppenrath-Spiegelburg”, Wolfgang Hölker, welcomed the IGSN students to the creative Centre of the publishing house. In Germany every child knows the world of Felix, the bunny who travels around the world, and princess Lillifee created by this company. In an old rebuilt fire station, Wolfgang Hölker showed us his fantastic world of an artist and a businessman. He gave the IGSN students a warm welcome and an afternoon full of interesting and funny stories from the world of arts. Not only a publisher, Wolfgang Hölker also sponsors young Northrhine-Wesphalian artists. Just a short walk from his “office” along the harbor he showed us the gallery which the city of Münster runs as a public-private partnership with him. In addition, Mr Hölker`s wife Siggi Spiegelburg, invited us to have a look behind the scenes of her fashion and design studio.
This was a marvelous day for all of the participants with so many inside stories from the world of history, art and business. The IGSN would like to thank Dr. Rheinländer and his wife for hosting and organizing such a wonderful event for us. Thank you for a truly memorable day!
Click here for some photographs of the trip (requires JavaScript)