The IStG as an interdisciplinary research centre promotes and supports the study of all aspects of historical urban studies – town life and economy, topography and the built urban environment, urban social, political, economic and cultural history, to name but a few. Thus, its unmatched resources, the specialized library and the collections of maps and images in particular, are put at the disposal of visiting students and scholars from all kinds of academic backgrounds and from all over the world. We are proud of the many international guests we have been accommodating over the decades and look forward to developing new ties.

Doctoral students, post-docs and more advanced scholars visiting the Institute appreciate this unique facility as an opportunity to gain an overview over past and recent publications in their fields, to find material on the towns they study and comparable examples, a theoretical foundation or methodological inspiration for their work as well as exchange with other colleagues. The main focus of IStG activities are German towns in the pre-modern and modern era, but there is a wide range of material pertaining to European urban history and even beyond that. While the bulk of literature will be in German, there are works in all kinds of other European languages with the odd Japanese title in between.

Your research at the IStG
If you think a visit to the IStG could be beneficial to your work, please do not hesitate to contact us. Your enquiry will help to establish which aspects of your research could best be elaborated on the basis of our facilities. The duration of our guests’ stays varies from one day to several months, according to their needs.

A reading knowledge of German would be important for many subjects, no doubt, but our staff are comfortable with speaking English. We may also help you to take further organizational steps and provide contacts to our extensive network of alumni – one of whom may know exactly what it takes to organize your research trip to Germany from your home country.

We may also arrange for you to use university facilities as a guest. The University of Münster (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität) boasts a strong Department of History and many others with library content pertaining to urban studies such as art history, archaeology and law, for example.

Depending on the duration of your stay, housing in Münster may become necessary. The University of Münster’s Welcome Center can assist you in finding accommodation in one of the university’s guest houses. Furthermore, the Welcome Center provides activities and events for international students to help you network and thus enhance your research-experience in Münster.

Funding your research stay
Starting in 2022, we are happy to offer researchers who want to visit the IStG a scholarship. For terms and application procedures please get in touch with us (istg@uni-muenster.de). Besides that, several agencies such as the DAAD (Deutscher akademischer Auslandsdienst), Humbolt-Stiftung, ERASMUS+ as well as various other institutions outside of Germany provide study or travel grants. Of course we supply all the necessary information and documentation to ensure that your application for funding meets their criteria. Please also contact your home university or institution for information on this aspect, and your academic supervisor if you are a student.

For further information please contact: istg@uni-muenster.de