Philosopher Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Carl Friedrich Gethmann will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of History & Philosophy. In his life's work, he uniquely combines reflection on fundamental and methodological questions of his discipline with the practical application of philosophical expertise in political consulting and social discourse.

From 23 August 2025 to 15 February 2026, the special exhibition “Theme Room Colonialism” at the Stadtmuseum will focus on the traces of German colonial rule and its consequences. Exhibits from the years between 1884 and 1918 with a connection to Münster illustrate how ethnological exhibitions, colonial goods shops and contemporary everyday goods supported stereotypes also in Münster and how multifaceted the effects of colonial policy are to this day. The presentation is the result of a collaboration between the Münster City Museum, the Department of History and the Institute for Didactics of History at the University of Münster and twelve other partner institutions.

In a public panel discussion on 9 July 2025, Dr. Franziska Davies and Dr. Kateryna Rietz-Rakul, moderated by Eastern European historian Prof. Dr Ricarda Vulpius, will shed light on the very heterogeneous German positions on Russia's war against Ukraine. In addition to the failings of German society with regard to Ukraine, the discussion will also look at the particularities of the perception of the war in Ukraine in East and West Germany.

At the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern era, there were more than 1,000 houses and facilities in what is now Germany where leprosy patients lived and were cared for, as in Münster-Kinderhaus. The Society for Leprosy Studies (GfL) has set itself the task of collecting information on these places. In an open-air lecture at the SchlauRaum Festival, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wagner will present a GfL project for the online presentation of the research results.

As a gesture of appreciation, the Museum of Thessaloniki is providing the Archaeological Museum with a consecration relief on long-term loan. The exciting artefact from the 1st century BC will be ceremonially handed over on 25 June 2025 at 5:45 pm. Afterwards, Dr. Kalliopi Chatzinikolaou will give a lecture on “Ancestral Cults of the Macedonians through the Royal Minting” as part of the Karl Lehmann Hartleben Lectures. All interested parties are cordially invited to attend.

In June, the Archaeological Museum is offering various guided tours on the subject of “Energy and the Future”. These will focus on the sustainable reuse of shards or mummy labels as well as ancient forms of energy: Fire, for example, provided energy for food preparation and for minting coins. The guided tours, which are part of the university press office's “Energy for the Future” dossier, start at 2:15 pm on Sundays.