The Dominican Church is located in the center of Münster on the Salzstraße, not far from the St. Lambert's Church. It was part of a monastery complex, of which only a wall with a sandstone gable remains, adjacent to the facade of the church (picture above, behind the church).

The church and monastery complex were built at the beginning of the 18th century, after the Dominican Order acquired the land. During the occupation by Napoleon's troops, the monastery was dissolved in 1811 and used for military purposes from 1826. In 1880, the city of Münster acquired the church and used it as a scholastic church.

During the Second World War, the Dominican Church was severely destroyed, and reconstruction dragged on until 1974. Only the sandstone gable remained from the former monastery. The church itself was administered by the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Münster and used by the Catholic university community for its Sunday services. Then, in November 2017, it was deconsecrated.

The deconsecration had a reason: in 2018, the artist Gerhard Richter gave Münster his work "Zwei graue Doppelspiegel für ein Pendel" (two gray double mirrors for a pendulum), which was installed under the dome of the Dominican Church (picture below). The artwork consists of a Foucault pendulum that is always kept in motion by a magnetic field drive. The pendulum swings above a large floor plate that rotates counterclockwise as time progresses due to the rotation of the earth. The installation is framed by hanging mirrors that reflect back the image of the pendulum and the audience, drawing viewers into the artwork.

You can view the installation Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can find out more about the art installation on the website of the city of Münster (website only available in German).

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​Further information:

• Wikipedia article Gerhard Richter (English article)