Jesuitenniederlassung Münster

The Jesuits established their college in Münster in 1588, taking over the older Paulinum school founded in 797. The college soon grew, reaching a thousand pupils by 1592 and training the sons of Westphalian nobles for the Counter-Reformation. Neighbouring houses were bought and added, including one sold by Heinrich II von Droste-Hülshoff in 1631 to expand the site. The college survived the suppression of the Jesuit order in 1773 through the efforts of Franz von Fürstenberg. Its buildings and library became part of the new University of Münster, founded in 1780, and a scale model of the old complex is kept in the city museum. Among its famous pupils were several members of the Droste-Hülshoff family and the poet’s father, Clemens-August II. Visitors can still trace the college’s past in the university quarter. A model in the city museum shows how the complex once looked. Nearby, the Paulinum school continues to occupy its ancient site, linking the 8th-century classroom with the 16th-century college.