Neumünster, a town in the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein, is rightly placed on both banks of the small river Schwale. It contains an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic Church and quite a lot of schools. After Altona, it is the most significant industrial town in the province.
The town boasts of a wide range of cloth-factories, as well as manufactures of leather, fiber, padding, carpets, paper, machinery, beer and sweetmeats.
Its trade significance started in the 17th century, as soon as the cloth-workers of Bad Segeberg (a town in the south-east) drifted here.
It is the fourth largest town in the state. The location between the North and the Baltic Sea has provided it a good platform for trading and growth. It is well placed as a market town at the junction of two trading routes. Even in Medieval times, the town was having the same significant place in terms of trade and business.
In 1870, Neumünster saw the approval of its charter and transformed into a municipal borough in 1901. Subsequently, through the growth of roads and a rail system, it got the opportunity to become the junction of seven lines. Having such an efficient rail system paved the way. It matured into one of the key centers of the German textile and leather industry.
Fortunately, the town escaped somehow in World War II and its majority of the buildings survived. After the War, it kept its growth momentum, attracting electrical, metal, and chemical fibre industries.
The town takes pride in its University. Apart from it, it also has a civic theater and exhibition hall. Scores of sports facilities together with ice-boat sailing can be enjoyed here.
And the zoo park and its own hydro-electric power station attract tourists as well.
All in all, it’s a nice, quiet sweet-spot town if you’re looking for a peaceful time in North Germany.
