King Willem-Alexander in Münster: House of the Netherlands” celebrates 30 years!

King Willem-Alexander in Münster: House of the Netherlands” celebrates 30 years!

On September 25, 2025, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands visited the University of Münster. Together with the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst, the King was there to mark the 30th anniversary of the “House of the Netherlands”. The date also coincided with “German Language Day”, which underlined the importance of the day.

The “House of the Netherlands”, which was opened by Willem-Alexander as Crown Prince in 1995, is considered a unique center of expertise in the world for relations between Germany and the Netherlands. The director of the Center for Dutch Studies, Prof. Dr. Jaco Pekelder, emphasized the house's outstanding role in academic and cultural cooperation.

Historical significance and review

The University of Münster is a place steeped in history; The Krameramtshaus served as accommodation for Dutch envoys during the negotiations for the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. King Willem-Alexander had already taken part in previous celebrations at the university, including in 2014 for the house's 25th anniversary.

Rector Prof. Dr. In his speech, Johannes Wessels emphasized the importance of the house for the partnership between the two countries. Prime Minister Wüst added that the idea of ​​the house was successful and it was an honor for North Rhine-Westphalia to have such a place.

Current challenges

As part of his visit, the King viewed the exhibition “Netherlands in 3D”, which covers various topics such as peace and prosperity in Europe, democracy, monarchy and economic partnerships. Students, scientists and business representatives took the opportunity to talk to the king.

A central point of discussion was the declining interest in the respective languages ​​in both countries. At the University of Münster, the number of students studying Dutch to become teachers has fallen from 362 to 225 since the winter semester 2020/2021. The situation is similar in the subject “Netherlands-German Studies”, whose enrollment has fallen from 266 to 152.

King Willem-Alexander confirmed that interest in studying German is also decreasing in the Netherlands. These trends cast a shadow over future cooperation and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Subsequent dates

The visit to the university was not the end of King Willem-Alexander's day in Münster. After his stay at the university, he was received by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for lunch at Wilkinghege Castle. The official visit finally ended at the headquarters of the 1st German-Dutch Army Corps in Münster, where the king was given another opportunity to promote German-Dutch relations.

The day highlighted both the historical connections and the current language and cultural challenges between the two countries and left room for hopes for a revitalization of cooperation in the future.

uni-muenster.de reports that the king showed great interest in the exhibition and the discussions. Also sketched tagesspiegel.de the further program points of the royal visit and its significance for German-Dutch relations.