Dortmund

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Dortmund

Dortmund is a city in Germany, located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 587,830 (20 June 2005) makes it the largest city in the region, 7th-largest in Germany, and 35th-largest in the European Union.

The Ruhr river flows south of the city, and the small river Emscher flows through the municipal area. The Dortmund-Ems Canal also terminates in the Dortmund Port, which is the largest German canal port, and links Dortmund to the North Sea.

Dortmund 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 the Rombergpark. Historically seen, after nearly a hundred years of extensive coal mining, coking, and steel milling within the city limits, this is quite a contrast.

The Christmas market (Weihnachtsmarkt) is one of the largest in Germany, and is host to the largest "christmas tree" in the world, formed by stacking hundreds of trees into the shape of a pyramid.

Sports

Dortmund is home of the sport club Borussia Dortmund which won the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup in 1997, as well as the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup against Liverpool (2:1 after extra-time in Hampden Park, Glasgow) in 1966. This made it to the first European Cup Winner in Germany. They play at Signal Iduna Park, formerly known as the Westfalenstadion. It was built for the 1974 FIFA World Cup and also hosted some matches of 2006 FIFA World Cup, including Italy's 2-0 defeat of Germany in the semi-finals. It is Germany's largest football stadium with a capacity of 82,932 spectators.

Borussia Dortmund has also a women's handball team playing in the first Bundesliga and a Table tennis team playing in the second.

Dortmund is the Olympiastützpunkt Northrhine-Westphalia.

Since 1982 the Sparkassen Chess-Meeting has taken place in Dortmund.

Traffic

Dortmund Airport is a medium-sized, but quickly growing airport 13 km east of the city centre at the city limit to Holzwickede.

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

Dortmund Harbour (Hafen) is the largest canal harbour in Europe; almost as large as the one in Duisburg, the world's largest inland port.

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 the more distant parts of Germany are maintained by the A1 and the A2 which pass closely to the north and east of the city and cross each other at the Kamener Kreuz interchange northeast of Dortmund. For public transportation, the city has an extensive Stadtbahn, streetcar and bus system. An additional light rail line is currently under construction in the city centre.

The H-Bahn at Dortmund University is a a unique hanging monorail built specifically to shuttle passengers across the university's campus, which is now also flanked by research laboratories and other high-tech corporations.

History

The history of Dortmund goes back as far as 880 AD, when the city was first mentioned in official documents as Throtmanni. It was a small village at that time. In 1152 the emperor Barbarossa came to the region and rebuilt the town, which had been destroyed in a fire shortly before. For two years Dortmund was the residence of Barbarossa — a short time, but afterwards it grew to become one of the most powerful towns of the empire. In the 13th century Dortmund joined the Hanseatic League. In 1220, it attained the status of an Imperial Free City, i.e. it was directly subordinated to the emperor. After 1320, the wealthy trading city started to appear in writing as "Dorpmunde". The etymology of the name is uncertain.

Dortmund lost its status as an Imperial Free City in 1803. It was incorporated into Prussia after the Napoleonic Wars and became a major center for coal, steel, and beer.

During the rule of the Third Reich, Dortmund was home to the Aplerbeck Hospital that "took care" of mentally and/or physically disabled persons (that is they were murdered in an euthanasia programme). Located in the heart of the Ruhr Area (Ruhrgebiet), Dortmund, along with neighbouring cities, was a target of allied bombing raids. During World War II about two-thirds of homes in Dortmund were destroyed.

Today the city is a center for hi-tech industry. It is also one of the greenest cities in Westphalia, with extensive parks and gardens laid out in the reconstruction period after the World War II. Additionally, the Dortmund chess tournament, one of the strongest in the world, is held there annually.

Buildings

Florianturm (TV Tower Dortmund): One of the first TV towers built in Germany has a revolving restaurant — one of the first in the world. Used to offer the adventerous an opportunity to bungee jump from a height of nearly 140m. This however was discontinued after a tragic accident which resulted in a fatality.
Signal Iduna Park: Soccer Ground of Borussia Dortmund, formerly known as the Westfalenstadion. Close to it is the Westfalenhalle, a large convention center, the site of several major conventions, trade fairs, ice-skating competitions, and other major events since the 1950s.

Sister Cities Affiliations

- Amiens, France, (1960)
- Leeds, United Kingdom, (1969)
- Rostov-on-Don, Russia, (1978)
- Buffalo (New York), United States, (1977)

- Netanya, Israel, (1981)
- Novi Sad, Serbia, (1982)
- Xi'an, People's Republic of China, (1992)

External links

Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia | Dortmund