| Official Name: | Village of Muenster |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Pushpin Map: | Saskatchewan#Canada |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Saskatchewan |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Saskatchewan |
| Subdivision Type3: | Census division |
| Subdivision Type4: | Rural Municipality |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Davis Scott |
| Leader Title1: | Administrator |
| Leader Name1: | Rose M. Haeusler |
| Leader Title2: | Governing body |
| Leader Name2: | Muenster Village Council |
| Established Title: | Post office founded |
| Established Date: | 1903 |
| Established Title2: | Incorporated (Village) |
| Established Date2: | 1908 |
| Established Title3: | Incorporated (Town) |
| Established Date3: | NA |
| Area Total Km2: | 1.33 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 422 |
| Population Density Km2: | 317.2 |
| Population Blank1 Title: | National Population Rank (Out of 5,008) |
| Timezone: | CST |
| Coordinates: | 52.191°N -104.995°W |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | S0K 2Y0 |
| Area Code: | 306 |
| Blank Name: | Highways |
| Blank Info: | Highway 5 |
| Blank1 Name: | Waterways |
Muenster (2016 population:) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of St. Peter No. 369 and Census Division No. 15. It is located 9km (06miles) east of Humboldt on Highway 5. Muenster is named after the city of Münster, Germany.
Muenster incorporated as a town on August 18, 1908.[1]
St. Peter's Abbey began in 1903 with the arrival of seven Benedictine monks.[2]
In 1921 St. Peter's Abbey became the Territorial Abbey of Saint Peter-Muenster. The abbot's duties were similar to that of a bishop of a diocese. The Territorial Abbey was suppressed in 1998 to become part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon.[3]
The historic territory of the abbey was also referred to as St. Peter's Colony.[4] The villages and parishes in St. Peter's Colony included: St. Peter's monastery and parish at Muenster, St. Boniface (Leofeld), Englefeld, Annaheim, Bruno, St. Joseph (Old Fulda), Marysburg, Humboldt, Lake Lenore, St. John Baptist (Willmont), Watson, St. Martin, St. Scholastico, St. Patrick's, St. Oswald Immaculate Conception. Dana, St. Gregor, St. Bernard (Old Pilger), St. Leo (St. Meinrad), St. Gertrude, Carmel, Peterson, Cudworth, Naicam, Holy Family Mission, St. Benedict, Pilger, St. James, and Middle Lake.
The majority of the early settlers in the region were German speaking Roman Catholics from the United States.[5]
In 1938, a German-language newspaper published in Muenster, St. Peter's Bode, was "banned from Germany by order of Heinrich Himmler, chief of the National police."[6] The paper's editor, Reverend Father Peters, responded: "All we did was print the facts. We carried little editorial content or criticism on German affairs."
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Muenster had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 1.36km2, it had a population density of in 2021.[7]
In the 2016 Census of Population, the Village of Muenster recorded a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of . With a land area of 1.33km2, it had a population density of in 2016.[8]
Muenster is home to St. Peter's College, an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan. It was founded by the Benedictine monks of St. Peter's Abbey in 1921.[9] The college offers a full first year of Arts and Sciences classes and senior classes in several disciplines. Annual full-time enrollment is limited to 150 students.
St. Peter's Abbey is host to the annual Junior and Teen Choir Camps of the Saskatchewan Choral Federation.
Muenster was home to the Muenster Red Sox, a senior baseball team. The Red Sox played in the North Central Baseball League from 1964–2003 and have in the Saskatoon Senior League until 2009. The Muenster Midget AAA Red Sox currently compete in the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League, capturing the provincial title in 2016 and winning a bronze medal at nationals that same year. The community is also active in hockey and soccer.
Notable persons who were born, grew up in or established their fame in Muenster, Saskatchewan: