Why Osnabrück? Well, the Westfälische Friede (the Peace of Westphalia) was signed there in 1648 thus ending the Thirty Years War, so it must be an interesting place. In truth, it was hit hard in World War II and had to be extensively reconstructed, like most cities in Germany. It's not that they did a bad job of it, it just turned out to be somehow soulless. Luckily the old city center remained more or less intact and there are many interesting timber framed houses to be seen. The cathedral (Dom) is also worth a visit, with its peaceful cloisters and treasury, but so are numerous other churches which somehow survived the war.


This is the interior of the Barösta Kaffeehaus


Entrance to the Felix Nussbaum Museum


One of the amazing facades in the streets of Osnabrück

I wanted to visit the Felix Nussbaum Museum, but it was closed for renovations and I was offered the chance to visit the rather good Osnabrück city museum for free instead. I will have to return for Nussbaum, a Jewish artist and painter who met his end in one of the camps during the war. I also visited the Erich Maria Remarque center, which did not charge an entry fee. Remarque wrote the famous World War I novel Nichts neues aus der Westen (All Quiet on the Western Front). Afterwards, I headed straight for the wine festival which was taking place in the square in front of the church, just in front of the Remarque Center, and only just managed to avoid ending up dancing on the tables again! For food, I visited the Rampendahl brewery on each of the nights I was in Osnabrück, which offered an excellent buffet for only €13.13 on Sunday and for €12.12 on weekdays. You don't often get deals like that these days. For excellent coffee and light eats I visited the slightly pretentious Barösta Kaffeehaus which was very welcoming nonetheless.


While walking through the cathedral I found this portal, a veritable trompe l'oeil in the literal sense


The treasury of the cathedral is worth a visit, one of the best I have seen


Beer vats in the Rampendahl brewery

From the point of view of visiting old monuments and buildings, the highpoint was probably the Rathaus, which is where the Peace of Westphalia was signed. You could visit most of the imposing building, which contains the administrative offices of the city. There is a small explanatory exhibition and you can freely visit the hall-like room where the treaty was signed. I felt that this place has significative importance in view of the current crisis between Russia and Ukraine. It was a good place to be when I was there.


The Rathaus (town hall) where the Peace of Westphalia was signed


This is the room where the treaty was actually signed