Dortmund

For other uses, see Dortmund (disambiguation).

Dortmund
From top: Skyline including the Reinoldikirche, Town Hall, Theater Dortmund, Concert Hall, Dortmund U-Tower, Westfalenstadion (Borussia Dortmund)
Flag Coat of arms
Dortmund
Location of Dortmund within Urban district
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Arnsberg
District	Urban
Founded	882
Government
• Lord Mayor	Ullrich Sierau (SPD)
Area
• Total	280.4 km2 (108.3 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	575,944
• Density	2,100/km2 (5,300/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	44001-44388
Dialling codes	0231, 02304
Vehicle registration	DO
Website	www.dortmund.de

Dortmund skyline

Dortmund ([ˈdɔɐ̯tmʊnt]; Low German: Düörpm [ˈdyːœɐ̯pm̩]; Latin: Tremonia) is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the middle part of the state and is considered to be the administrative, commercial and cultural centre of the region. Its population of 575,944 (2013) makes it the 8th largest city in Germany. Moreover, Dortmund is the largest city by area and population in the Ruhr Area, an urban area with some 5.1 million (2011) inhabitants which is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany.

Founded around 882, Dortmund became an Imperial Free City. Throughout the 13th to 14th centuries, it was the "chief city" of the Rhine, Westphalia, the Netherlands Circle of the Hanseatic League. After the Thirty Years' War the city was destroyed and decreased in significance until the onset of industrialization. The city then became one of Germany's most important coal, steel and beer centres until the 1970s.

Dortmund is home to many cultural and educational institutions, including the Technical University of Dortmund and Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, International School of Management and other educational, cultural and administrative facilities with over 49,000 students, many museums, such as Museum Ostwall, Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, German Football Museum, as well as theatres and music venues like the Konzerthaus or the opera house of Dortmund. The city is known as Westphalia's "green metropolis". Nearly half the municipal territory consists of waterways, woodland, agriculture and green spaces with spacious parks such as Westfalenpark and Rombergpark. This stands in a stark contrast with nearly a hundred years of extensive coal mining and steel milling within the city limits.

Dortmund is home to Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund, one of the most successful clubs in German football history.

History

See also: Timeline of Dortmund

The first time Dortmund was mentioned in official documents was around 882 as Throtmanni. After it was destroyed by a fire, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) had the town rebuilt in 1152 and resided there (among other places) for two years. It became an Imperial Free City. Throughout the 13th to 14th centuries, it was the "chief city" of the Rhine, Westphalia, the Netherlands Circle of the Hanseatic League.

City hall: Statue of the hanseatic league

After 1320, the city appeared in writing as "Dorpmunde". The 1661 earthquake made the Reinoldikirche collapse. It was part of Grand Duchy of Berg between 1806 and 1813 before passing to Prussian rule. Within the Prussian Province of Westphalia, Dortmund was a district seat within Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg until 1875, when it became an urban district within the region. During the industrialisation of Prussia, Dortmund became a major centre for coal and steel.

In 1920, Dortmund was one of the centres for resistance to the Kapp Putsch - a right military coup launched against the Social Democratic-led government. Radical workers formed a Red Army who fought the freikorps units involved in the coup.

Under Nazi Germany, the Old synagogue was destroyed in 1938. Also, the Aplerbeck Hospital in Dortmund transferred mentally and/or physically disabled patients for euthanasia at the Hadamar mental hospital as part of the Action T4 (an additional 229 children were killed in the "Children's Specialist Department", which was transferred from Marburg in 1941). Bombing targets of the Oil Campaign of World War II in Dortmund included Hoesch-Westfalenhütte AG, the "Hoesch-Benzin GmbH" synthetic oil plant, and the Zeche Hansa;, and the bombings destroyed about 66% of Dortmund homes and about 98% of the inner city area. The code word Dortmund was radioed to initiate the 1941 Operation Barbarossa campaign against the Soviet Union.

The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Dortmund in April 1945. The US 95th Infantry Division, attacked the city on 12 April 1945 against a spirited German defense. The division, assisted by close air support, advanced through the ruins in urban combat and completed its capture on 13 April 1945.

After the war, buildings such as the main churches Reinoldikirche and Marienkirche were restored or rebuilt, and extensive parks and gardens were laid out. The LWL-Industriemuseum was founded in 1969, and the city subsequently became a regional centre for hi-tech industry.

On 3 November 2013, more than 20,000 people were evacuated after a 4,000-pound bomb from World War II was found. German authorities safely defused the bomb. The bomb was found after analysing old aerial photographs while searching for unexploded bombs dropped by Allied aircraft over Germany's industrial Ruhr region.

Geography

Location

Historically speaking, Dortmund is a part of Westphalia. Today it is a part of the European Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, which is situated in the Bundesland North Rhine-Westphalia. Even if the region is named after the river Ruhr the main river in Dortmund is the Emscher. Dortmund is an independent city within the boundaries of the district government of Arnsberg.

Boroughs

Municipalities and neighbouring communities

Dortmund comprises 62 neighbourhoods which in turn are grouped into twelve boroughs (called Stadtbezirke), often named after the most important neighbourhood. Three boroughs cover the area of the inner city (Innenstadt-West, Innenstadt-Nord, Innenstadt-Ost) and the remaining nine boroughs make up the surrounding area (Eving, Scharnhorst, Brackel, Aplerbeck, Hörde, Hombruch, Lütgendortmund, Huckarde, Mengede). Each Stadtbezirk is assigned a Roman numeral and has a local governing body of nineteen members with limited authority. Most of the boroughs were originally independent municipalities but were gradually annexed from 1905 to 1975. This long-lasting process of annexation has led to a strong identification of the population with "their" boroughs or districts and to a rare peculiarity: The borough of Hörde, located in the south of Dortmund and independent until 1928, has its own coat of arms.

Climate

Dortmund is situated in the temperate climate zone. Winters are comparatively mild, summers rather cool. The average annual temperature lies at approximately 9 to 10 °C (48 to 50 °F), the total average annual amount of precipitation lies at approximately 800 mm (31 in). Precipitation evenly falls throughout the year; steady rain (with some snow), prevails in the wintertime, isolated showers dominate the summer season. Dortmund features characteristics of densely populated areas as for example the occurrence of urban heat islands is typical.

Climate data for Dortmund
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	4 (39)	5 (41)	9 (48)	13 (55)	18 (64)	21 (70)	22 (72)	22 (72)	19 (66)	15 (59)	9 (48)	5 (41)	13.5 (56.3)
Average low °C (°F)	−1 (30)	−1 (30)	2 (36)	4 (39)	8 (46)	11 (52)	13 (55)	13 (55)	10 (50)	7 (45)	3 (37)	1 (34)	5.8 (42.4)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	65 (2.56)	56 (2.2)	53 (2.09)	57 (2.24)	68 (2.68)	78 (3.07)	93 (3.66)	93 (3.66)	67 (2.64)	60 (2.36)	71 (2.8)	77 (3.03)	838 (32.99)
Average rainy days	19	17	14	16	14	14	17	16	15	17	19	19	197
Source: Wetter Kontor

Demographics

Largest groups of foreign residents

Nationality	Population (2014)
Turkey	22,919
Poland	8,821
Romania	4,109
Greece	3,951
Italy	3,228
Morocco	3,106
Ukraine	2,657
Bulgaria	2,471
Spain	2,422
Russia	1,898

Population Development since 1400

Dortmund's population grew rapidly in the time of the 19th century industrialisation when coal mining and steel processing in the city began. 1904 marks the year when Dortmund saw a population of more than 100,000 for the first time in its history. Not taking the fluctuation of war years into account, the population figures rose constantly to 657,804 in 1965. As a result of the city's post-industrial decline, the population fell to just under 580,000 in 2011; the population is forecast to further decline to 550,000 inhabitants by 2030. Contrary to those projections, population figures have been on the up in the recent years due to net migration gains. Dortmund has seen a moderate influx of younger people (18 to 25 years of age) mainly because of its universities. Data of the EU-wide 2011 census revealed massive inaccuracies with regard to German population figures. Consequently, respective figures have been corrected, which resulted in a statistical "loss" of 9,000 inhabitants in Dortmund. As of 2012, Dortmund had a population of 571,403 of whom about 177,000 (roughly 30%) were of non-German origin. The table shows the number of first and second generation immigrants in Dortmund by nationality as of 31 December 2014.

Politics

Dortmund city hall at Freedom Square)

Dortmund is one of nineteen independent district-free cities (kreisfreie Städte) in North Rhine-Westphalia, which means that it does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity, in this case it is not part of a Landkreis'

Dortmund is often called the Herzkammer der SPD (roughly translated as "heartland of the Social democrats"), which is the politically dominant party in the city. Since the end of the war, the SPD has held a relative majority in the town council - except from 1999 to 2004. Since the 2012 local election, there have been 8 parties and electors' groups in the town council (86 seats; 2009: 96 seats): Ullrich Sierau (SPD) has been the mayor of Dortmund since May 2010. He has had to work with changing majorities in the local council.

Current composition of the local council:

	SPD	CDU	GRÜNE	FDP/Bürgerliste	DIE LINKE.	Non-inscrit	Total
2012	38	23	15	4	3	3	86

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Dortmund has a large number of international relations and partnerships. It is currently twinned with:

Zwickau, Germany Amiens, France, since 1960 Leeds, United Kingdom, since 1969  Rostov-on-Don, Russia, since 1973 Buffalo, United States, since 1977

Netanya, Israel, since 1981 Novi Sad, Serbia, since 1982 Criciúma, Brazil, since 1992 Xi'an, People's Republic of China, since 1992 Trabzon, Turkey, since 2013

Economy

Wilo headquarters in Dortmund

Dortmund has historically been an industrial area.

Companies that are headquartered in Dortmund include Signal Iduna, Thyssenkrupp Uhde Gmbh and Wilo. Dortmund is now home to a number of medium-sized information technology companies, many linked to the local university TechnologieZentrumDortmund program. The city works closely with research institutes, private universities, and companies to collaborate on the commercialisation of science initiatives.

In 2009, Dortmund was classified as a Node city in the Innovation Cities Index published by 2thinknow.

Transportation

Dortmund central train station

Dortmund also serves as a major European and German crossroads for the Autobahnsystem. The Ruhrschnellweg follows old Hanseatic trade routes to connect the city with the other metropolises of the Ruhr Area. Connections to more distant parts of Germany are maintained by Autobahn routes A1 and A2, which traverse the north and east city limits and meet at the Kamener Kreuz interchange northeast of Dortmund. In combination with the Autobahn A45 to the west these form the Dortmund Beltway (Dortmunder Autobahnring).

The central train station (Dortmund Hauptbahnhof) is the third largest long distance traffic junction in Germany.

Dortmund Airport is a medium-sized, but fast growing airport 13 km (8.1 mi) east of the city centre at the city limit to Holzwickede. The closest intercontinental airport is Düsseldorf International Airport.

Dortmund Harbour (Hafen) is the largest canal harbour in Europe and the 11th fluvial harbour in Germany.

For public transportation, the city has an extensive Stadtbahn and bus system. In April 2008, the newly constructed east-west underground light rail line was opened, completing the underground service in the city centre and replacing the last trams on the surface.

The H-Bahn at Dortmund University of Technology is a hanging monorail built specifically to shuttle passengers between the university's two campuses, which are now also flanked by research laboratories and other high-tech corporations and startups. A nearly identical monorail system transfers passengers at Düsseldorf Airport.

Main sights

Dortmund with RWE-Tower and churches of Reinoldi, Petri and Marien on the right

Dortmund's city centre offers a picture full of contrasts. Historic buildings like Altes Stadthaus or the Krügerpassage rub shoulders with post-war architecture like Gesundheitshaus and concrete constructions with Romanesque churches like the Reinoldikirche and the Marienkirche. The inner city of Dortmund was completely destroyed during World War II. The reconstruction of the city followed the style of the 1950s, while respecting the old layout and naming of the streets. The downtown of Dortmund still retains the outline of the medieval city. A ring road marks the former city wall, and the Westen-/Ostenhellweg, part of a medieval salt trading route, is still the major (pedestrian) street bisecting the city centre.

Thus, the city today is characterized by simple and modest post-war buildings, with a few interspersed pre-war buildings which were reconstructed due to their historical importance. Some buildings of the "Wiederaufbauzeit" (era of reconstruction), for example the opera house are nowadays regarded as classics of modern architecture.

Shopping Streets

The "Westenhellweg", is a popular shopping destination and with nearly 13,000 visitors per hour it was Germany's most frequented shopping street in 2013. Some of the most reputed shops, department stores, and labels have their stores here. It is a pedestrian-only area and is bordered by the Reinoldikirche in the east and U-Tower in the west. The Westenhellweg has among one the highest rents for retail and office space in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Westenhellweg

85 percent of the shops are retail chains such as H&M, Saturn, Esprit, Zara or NewYorker. In 2009 a new shopping mall named Thier-Galerie opened there with nearly 100 stores and chains like Hollister. Three more shopping malls occupy the Thier-Galerie, Galeria Kaufhof and Karstadt, as well as large fashion retail clothing stores from Peek & Cloppenburg and C&A. During the month before Christmas, the extended pedestrian-only zone is host to Dortmund Christmas Market, one of the largest and oldest Christmas markets in Germany. With more than three and a half million visitors of 300 stalls around a gigantic Christmas tree creation that stands 45 metres tall is the Dortmund Christmas Market one of the most visited and popular market in the world.

In close proximity to the Dortmund concert hall lies the "Brückstraßenviertel" quarter - a hub especially for young people. The "Rue de Pommes Frites", which is what the Dortmund citizens have called the Brückstraße for a long time, has turned into a modern, young shopping promenade. Here under 25s can find nearly anything - from a flashy hairstyle via crazy clothes to trendy accessories. If you need to gather some breath after all the shopping, browsing and buying, you can find a cosy space in one of the roughly 130 cafés, restaurants and pubs.

The "Boulevard Kampstraße." For a long time the Kampstraße had a shadowy existence as parallel street to the Westenhellweg and Ostenhellweg - but it has now become a grand boulevard. Additionally, the specialist stores on offer here guarantee an attractive shopping experience. Right next to the Kampstraße is the Kleppingstraße, an expensive shopping street with prestigious shops.

Altes Stadthaus

Churches

St.Reinoldi and St.Marien

• Reinoldikirche, a Protestant church (built in 1233-1450)
• Petrikirche, a Protestant church (start of construction 1322). It is famous for the huge carved altar (known as "Golden Miracle of Dortmund"), from 1521. It consists of 633 gilt carved oak figures depicting 30 scenes about Easter.
• Marienkirche, a Protestant church originally built in 1170-1200 but rebuilt after World War II. The altar is from 1420.
• Propsteikirche St. Johannes Baptist, Monastery of the Dominican Order in the city center (built in 1331-1353)
• St. Peter, Syburg, the oldest church building in the city limits
• Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche, a Protestant church (start of construction 1911)
• St.-Margareta Chapel, a Protestant chapel built in 1348

Castles

• Haus Bodelschwingh (13th century), a moated castle
• Haus Dellwig (13th century), a moated castle partly rebuilt in the 17th century. The façade and the steep tower, and two half-timbered buildings, are original.
• Haus Rodenberg (13th century), a moated castle
• Altes Stadthaus, built in 1899 by Friedrich Kullrich
• Wasserschloss Bodelschwingh
• Romberg Park Gatehouse (17th century), once a gatehouse to a moated castle. Now it houses an art gallery.
• Husen Castle, the tower house of a former castle, in the borough of Syburg.

Industrial buildings

• U-Tower, former Dortmunder Union brewery, now a museum
• Zollern II/IV Colliery, now part of the Westphalian Industrial Museum and an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH)
• Hansa Coking Plant

Cultural buildings

Konzerthaus Dortmund

• Konzerthaus Dortmund
• Opernhaus Dortmund, opera house built in 1966 on the site of the old synagogue which was destroyed by the Nazis in 1938.
• The major art museums include the Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte and the more recent Museum Ostwall.
• DASA, Germany Occupational Health and Safety Exhibition (German: Deutsche Arbeitsschutzausstellung)
• Brewery Museum Dortmund
• Museum of Art and Cultural History
• German Football Museum

Other important buildings

• Florianturm, (television tower Florian)
• Westfalenstadion: Football ground of Borussia Dortmund, licensed until 2016 under the name Signal Iduna Park
• Close to Westfalenstadion are the Westfalenhallen, a large convention centre, the site of several major conventions, trade fairs, ice-skating competitions, concerts and other major events since the 1950s.
• RWE Tower (100 metre-high skyscraper)

Education

University of Applied Sciences - City Campus

The city is the site of several universities, colleges and academies, which attract about 45,000 students. Among them there are:

• Technische Universität Dortmund: Technical university founded in 1968. Departments for natural sciences, engineering, economics and humanities.
• Fachhochschule Dortmund: University of Applied Sciences founded in 1971.
• FOM Hochschule für Oekonomie & Management, Standort Dortmund: Academy for management, founded in 1993.
• Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung Nordrhein-Westfalen: Academy for public administration.
• International School of Management: Private academy focussing on management and economics, founded in 1990.
• IT-Center Dortmund: Private college founded in 2000.

Culture

Dortmund U-Tower (Dortmund U-Tower)

The city has a long tradition of music and theatre. The orchestra was founded in 1887 and is now called Dortmunder Philharmoniker. The first opera house was built in 1904, destroyed in World War II and opened again in 1966 as Opernhaus Dortmund. It is operated by Theater Dortmund together with other locations, including (since 2002) the Konzerthaus Dortmund. The Dortmund U-Tower, which was once a brewery, is now centre of creative industries and the Museum am Ostwall. The city is namesake for the Dortmunder style beer and is home to the Dortmunder Actien Brauerei.

Sports

Signal Iduna Park, the home stadium of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, is the biggest stadium in Germany

Dortmund is home to the sports club Borussia Dortmund, one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund are former Bundesliga champions most recently in 2011–2012. Borussia Dortmund was winner of the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup in 1997, as well as the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1966. This made it the first European Cup Winner in Germany. 'Die Borussen' are eight-time German Champions and have won three German Cups. Borussia Dortmund play at Westfalenstadion, currently known as Signal Iduna Park. It was built for the 1974 FIFA World Cup and also hosted some matches of 2006 FIFA World Cup. It is Germany's largest football stadium with a maximum capacity of 81,359 spectators.

Borussia Dortmund also has a women's handball team playing in the first Bundesliga, while Borussia's table tennis team and the SVD 49 Dortmund basketball team play in their respective second national divisions.

Dortmund is the Olympic centre for Westphalia.

The Sparkassen Chess-Meeting has been hosted in Dortmund since 1982.

Besides Dortmund owns an all-weather racecourse called "Galopprennbahn Dortmund".

External links

• Dortmund travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official website