Latest news with #WesternGermany
BBC News
06-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Cyclists crash into crowd at German Track Championships
The final day of the German Track Cycling Championships was abandoned after several spectators were injured when two cyclists crashed into the incident happened on the final bend of the men's keirin semi-finals as the two riders careered over the barriers at a speed of about 35mph at the track in Dudenhofen, western spectators were injured, some seriously, with two needing to be airlifted to hospital. The two cyclists escaped with minor helicopters, six ambulances and an emergency doctor attended the incident."The health of athletes and spectators always comes first. Cancelling the event was therefore unavoidable. Best wishes for a speedy recovery go out to all those injured," said German Cycling marketing and communications officer Oliver of Dudenhofen Cycling Club, Jens Hartwig, said: "I'm shocked by the accident. We've had a cycling festival here in Dudenhofen for five days. Of course, no-one wanted the event to end like this. I wish everyone involved a speedy and full recovery."
New York Times
22-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Far-Right Party Tries to Expand Its Appeal in Germany's West
It was a warm spring day in Duisburg, a rusty industrial hub in Western Germany, and Alan Imamura, a member of the City Council, was chatting with constituents in a shop-lined pedestrian mall on the city's impoverished north side. Until recently, Mr. Imamura said, he was not welcome in places like this. That is because he is a leading local figure in the Alternative for Germany, known as the AfD, a far-right party whose national organization was recently declared an extremist group by the country's domestic intelligence service. Much of the AfD's support comes from the former East Germany. But in recent years, it has developed a beachhead in parts of Western Germany. During February's federal elections, several neighborhoods in Mr. Imamura's district gave the AfD some of its best results in the country, coming close to 40 percent of the vote. 'It's so different,' he said. 'You would not imagine, five years ago — when I put up some posters, people spat on me. And today the people, they say, 'Finally.'' The AfD emerged over a decade ago around skepticism against the euro, but it soon morphed into a party built on the denigration of immigrants and refugees, one of the reasons it was designated as extremist. A confidential, 1,018-page report by the domestic intelligence service, which was not released but was reviewed by Der Spiegel magazine, documents what it called 'an entrenched xenophobic mind-set' within the 'top leadership structures of the AfD.' For example, Bjorn Höcke, who leads the AfD in the Eastern state of Thuringia, has repeated Nazi-era slogans and called for 'large-scale' deportations with 'well-tempered cruelties.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Times
19-05-2025
- Times
The fun, under-the-radar German city that's now easier to reach
Second World War bombs destroyed nearly all of Münster's large, shield-shaped Altstadt, or old town. Yet rather than opting for a contemporary look, the city mostly recreated streets in an ersatz historic style. The results, especially along the focal Prinzipalmarkt street, are impressive, with a handsome riot of cobbles, red bricks, arcades, alleys and gabled houses, plus 90-odd churches whose bells seem to permanently be tolling. Even so, this compact city, north of the Ruhr in western Germany, is far from fusty. Students, contributing a youthful energy, account for 20 per cent of inhabitants while bicycles — most prominent along the three-mile Promenade, a moat turned leafy cycleway and footpath that encloses the Altstadt — outnumber everyone. Other reasons to board new flights from Stansted range from a heavyweight contemporary art scene and some thrillingly bloody history to the chance to try or buy superlative, farm-fresh examples of Germany's beloved white asparagus. • Morning: St-Paulus-Dom cathedral• Lunch: Wochenmarkt• Afternoon: LWL Museum of Art and Culture• Drink at: Balthazar• Evening: Stadthafen• Dinner: Altes Gasthaus Leve • Morning: Old town walking tour• Lunch: Die 3 Schwestern• Afternoon: Münster Botanic Garden• Drink at: Pinkus Müller Altbierküche• Evening: Lake Aasee• Dinner: Global Tarsusi ● The colossal cathedral at the heart of the Altstadt, St-Paulus-Dom, contains gleaming golden reliquaries, porthole-like stained-glass windows and a still-operational, 16th-century astronomical clock. Ornate and enormous, this produces a glockenspiel-soundtracked display at noon as figurines representing the Magi appear twice and bow to Mary and Jesus. Arrive by 11.45 for a clear vantage point. ● Spread over two floors of cavernous rooms, the LWL Museum of Art and Culture's regionally centred exhibits run through the centuries, ranging from Madonna statues and Luther bibles to Yves Klein monochromes and an Edvard Munch nude. You can also see works from the Skulptur Projekte Münster, which changes every ten years, the next edition starting in 2027 (£9; ● Stadthafen, Münster's 'port', where grand industrial buildings line a basin off the Dortmund-Ems Canal, has been gentrified into a buzzy hub of creative agencies and water-facing bar-restaurants with big terraces. As the latter are all a bit overpriced, opt instead for some hazelnut ice cream from MaMa's, just inland (scoops from £2; ● Take a local-led tour of the handsome Altstadt. Its Peace Hall — where Louis XIV and other European dignitaries ended the Thirty Years War — and grand, gothic St Lambert's Church, complete with cages where the mutilated corpses of three Protestant revolutionaries were once shockingly displayed, are the headline acts (tours £61pp for two; ● Walk or pedal around the lime tree-canopied Promenade to the Schloss Münster, a baroque bishop's palace turned university building. Hidden behind is the Münster Botanic Garden; a circuit here reveals humid, lemon-scented glasshouses with boardwalks across ponds; a slumberous, lily-padded lake; bumpy rock gardens; and dappled copses studded with benches (free; ● Lake Aasee extends from the Altstadt's southwestern fringe. On sunny evenings, as locals festoon its flanks, ride the electric Solariis ferry (from £4; last service 5.30pm) to a museum of relocated historic buildings, headlined by a 17th-century post mill (£7; or look for Henry Moore's bronze amid a walking trail of former Skulptur Projekte works ( • 10 of the best places to visit in Germany On Saturdays and Wednesdays, the square surrounding the cathedral, Domplatz, hosts a large market. Food's the focus, with farm stalls selling punnets of strawberries alongside honey specialists and pumpernickel producers. The western side contains dozens of food trucks. Winterhoffs Flammkuchen serves crispy, pizza-like tarte flambées studded with bacon and onion for about £6, plus glasses of rosé ( Seconds from the deconsecrated Dominican Church, inside which Gerhard Richter's pendulum installation hypnotically proves the Earth's rotation, is the traditional Altes Gasthaus Leve inn. Full of cosy, dark-wood corners, this is the place to try typical Westphalian dishes: white asparagus with potatoes; open pumpernickel sandwiches; or veal ragout (mains from £14; On Wolbecker Strasse, this faintly beatnik vegan café majors in brilliant and beautifully presented brunch bowls. These might incorporate homemade banana bread, avocado, granola or kiwi fruit alongside smoothies or good coffee. Chilled-out beats play and it's common to queue for a seat (dishes from £5; Head east along the going-hip Wolbecker Strasseto find Münster's best cocktail bar. Decked out in jungle-green colours, compact Balthazar has a solar-system-themed menu. The Sun (gin, lemon sherbet, curaçao and yuzu saké) is the most popular, but I opt for a Venus, in which rich apricot, rhubarb and raspberry flavours riff with rye whisky and saké (cocktails from £10; Of the 150 breweries that once produced dark, malty altbier in Münster, only Pinkus Müller remains in business. Its century-old complex includes a simple restaurant with outdoor drinking tables. The classic summer order is altbierbowle, in which preserved strawberries or raspberries are added to the staple, chilled beer (beers from £3; Like all German cities, Münster has tons of Turkish restaurants. Offering more of a Mediterranean-wide outlook, this neighbourhood joint might be the best, aided by superb service. Sit out on the buzzy street and order herby minced lamb wrapped in freshly baked flatbread alongside homemade aioli (mains from £7; • Read our full guide to Germany This article contains affiliate links, which can earn us revenue Great design and gourmet foodRight on the Promenade, and very handy for the airport bus, this beautiful design hotel mixes mid-century furniture with oak-parquet floors, monochrome photography and moody taupes or greys. It also rents out bikes and has an ambitious but informal ground-floor restaurant, Reckos, whose white asparagus soup is outstanding (B&B doubles from £157; Simple style near greeneryIn a safe, residential area out near the Botanic Garden and Lake Aasee, adults-only Hotel Jellentrup's red-brick building contains 21 rooms exclusively on its first and second floors, but no lift. Expect simple but spacious furnishings in subdued colours, and to pay extra for a balcony with outdoor seating. Breakfast is a small but high-quality buffet (B&B doubles from £106; Private hostel rooms for a songDespite the name, this hostel inside the altstadt isn't just dormitories. There are also some capacious double or twin rooms with sitting areas, bathrooms and wardrobes. Drinks and coffee are available in the buzzy lounge, where pale woods and exposed bricks set a post-industrial tone. Expect a little late-night noise as younger guests return home (B&B doubles from £68; On March 30, Ryanair began flying four times a week from London Stansted to Münster Osnabrück; taking 60 minutes, these services will continue until October 25. The S50 bus, going to Munster Hbf from stop H outside the terminal, takes 40 minutes to reach central Münster and every half-hour (£8 one-way; Taxis cost about £60. If you want to join Münster's cycling swarms, or go rural and follow the 100 Castles Route cycling path to moated mansions and river valleys ( the Radstation shop by Münster Central Station has bikes from £9 per day. Electric options are also available ( Mellor was a guest of the German National Tourist Board ( and Münster Marketing (
