PAULUS Support Association (registered association)

Here you will find the form to register your membership. Please print it out, sign it, and either send it by mail or drop it off at the museum. We look forward to receiving your registration!

You can also find our statutes here.

The Cathedral Treasury in Münster has been closed since 2017. Consequently, this valuable ecclesiastical treasure is no longer accessible—an untenable situation.
This is especially evident in the magnificent reliquaries, most notably the *Pauluskopf* (Head of St. Paul), which contains a relic of the cathedral’s patron saint.

Everything preserved there is directly connected to the cathedral and its liturgy. These are not objects torn from their original context, only to be assigned a new meaning within a museum setting.
The cathedral treasury serves as an authentic testament to the 1,200-year history of the diocese; every piece belongs precisely in this location, and together they map out this long history. At the same time, these objects are more than mere historical artifacts—they are part of a religious experience and perception of the world, acting as bridges between the temporal and the transcendent.

This is especially evident in the magnificent reliquaries, most notably the *Pauluskopf* (Head of St. Paul), which contains a relic of the cathedral’s patron saint.

At the *Alter Fischmarkt* (Old Fish Market), the sacred and the everyday meet directly. Clothing stores display their seasonal wares, following the recurring cycles of summer and winter in a constant search for the new. Inside the Cathedral Treasury, textiles also await the viewer—centuries old, yet never discarded—subject to their own distinct cycles governed by unique principles. Here, one can experience the liturgical year as a vibrant interplay of colors. All of this challenges visitors to reflect on their own values ​​and to call into question conventional perceptions of the Church.

Today, everything is too quickly reduced to the one-dimensional question of an object’s financial value; church treasures are often perceived merely as an expression of the Church’s “immense” wealth—yet their material value is frequently not as high as one might assume. It is other types of value that are reflected here—values ​​that should no longer remain hidden from view.

The impressive treasury of Münster Cathedral must be put on display once again. It is a very bold, perhaps even pioneering, approach to move beyond the immediate cathedral precinct—the *Domburg* in Münster—and step into the heart of today’s bustling urban life. Such a new location demands an entirely new mode of presentation. The goal is not simply to exhibit as many items as possible; this will not be just another museum, but rather a place that sparks thought and challenges perspectives—a space that truly serves as a catalyst for new ideas.

THE CATHEDRAL TREASURY BECOMES A TREASURE HOUSE IN THE HEART OF THE CITY.

Prof. Dr. Matthias Wemhoff
Director of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History,
National Museums in Berlin – Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation