Dortmund is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia and
with 588,250 inhabitants the ninth largest city in Germany, and the
third largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and
Düsseldorf. Dortmund is part of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region
with around eleven million inhabitants, the largest city in the Ruhr
area in terms of area and population, and is the administrative,
commercial and cultural center of the eastern Ruhr area. The city is
located on the western edge of Westphalia and is part of the
Arnsberg administrative district.
The once important imperial
and Hanseatic city (Tremonia in Latin) along the Hellweg, which
presumably dates back to the founding of the Carolingian imperial
court, is developing today from an industrial metropolis to an
important service and technology location: In the past, Dortmund is
mainly known for its steel, coal and beer A center of the insurance
industry and retail trade after many years of structural change.
With around 53,500 students at six universities, including the
Technical University of Dortmund and 19 other scientific
institutions, Dortmund is one of the ten largest university cities
in Germany and is also an important location for science and high
technology. New settlements and business start-ups are therefore
preferred in the areas of logistics, information and microsystem
technology. The metropolis in the Ruhr area has a diverse cultural
scene with numerous museums and galleries such as the Museum
Ostwall, the Museum for Art and Cultural History or the German
Football Museum. There is also the Dortmund theater with opera
house, the award-winning playhouse and the children's and youth
theater as well as the concert hall.
With its main train
station and airport, Dortmund is an important transport hub and
point of attraction, especially for the surrounding area and Europe
(Benelux countries), and has a connection to important seaports on
the North Sea with the largest canal port in Europe. Dortmund gained
national fame through the football club Borussia Dortmund with its
home ground, Signal Iduna Park, the former Westfalenstadion. With
over 81,000 spectator seats, it is the largest football stadium in
Germany. Other attractions and landmarks of the city are the
Dortmunder U, the Westenhellweg as one of the most frequented
shopping streets in Germany, the Reinoldikirche, the Westfalenhalle,
the Florian Tower and the Phoenix Lake. The cityscape and the
skyline are also characterized by striking high-rise buildings. In
terms of tourism, the city is growing in importance every year, with
over 1.44 million overnight stays in Dortmund in 2019; the growth is
therefore 6.5 percent.
Downtown West – the actual city center with shopping streets, leisure
centers and cultural institutions
Downtown-North ("Nordstadt") -
largest contiguous old building area in the Ruhr area, cultural melting
pot
Downtown East – attractive residential areas close to the city
center, this is also where the Westfalenpark is located
Eving - old
industrial district, now a residential area with high recreational value
Hörde - heterogeneous districts with alternating dense buildings and
wide open spaces
Hombruch - forest, agriculture and a well-kept
living environment form the south of Dortmund
Huckarde - high
population density in a small area
Lütgendortmund – district steeped
in history with the Zeche Zollern industrial museum
Mengede – The
north-west of the city
Scharnhorst - Seven very different suburbs
make up this district with lots of green spaces
By plane
Dortmund Airport 21 internet (IATA: DTM), Flughafenring
24, 4319 Dortmund. Tel.: +49 (0)231 92 13 01, fax: +49 (0)231 921 31 25,
e-mail: service@dortmund-airport.de. lies in the east of Dortmund on the
city limits of Holzwickede and Unna. Measured in terms of passenger
volume, the airport has developed into the third largest commercial
airport in North Rhine-Westphalia in recent years. With more than
2,000,000 passengers, the airport is the largest airport in Westphalia
and offers a broad basis for air traffic operations with a wide range of
scheduled tourist services, business travel and general aviation.
The airport is connected with the express bus (airport shuttle) for
€7.50 to Dortmund main station or for €3 to Holzwickede station.
Alternatively, the DSW21 takes bus line 490 in the direction of
Aplerbeck, from where the U47 runs in the direction of the city centre.
The VRR tariff applies there, in Dortmund city center it is (as of
January 2018) € 2.70 for an adult (price category A ticket is valid for
90 minutes, for journeys in one direction, including changing from bus
490 to the U47).
By train
Dortmund Central Station is one of
the most important railway junctions in Germany. From there there are
direct connections to some cities in Europe and to most major cities in
Germany. There are direct connections to Vienna, Zurich, Hamburg (3
hours) via Bremen, Berlin (3½ hours travel time) via Hanover (1½ hours),
Erfurt via Kassel (2 hours), Nuremberg and Munich via Frankfurt am Main
Airport (2¼ hours), Freiburg (4½ hours), Mainz (IC, 3 hours), Münster (½
hours), Bielefeld (¾ hours), Soest (Westphalia) (¾ hours), Aachen and
Bonn via Cologne ( 1¼ hours). The station will be completely rebuilt and
modernized in the near future to better meet the needs of today.
By bus
Dortmund has its own bus station for long-distance coaches on
the north side of the main train station. This is where most travel
companies start and end their tours. Due to the immediate proximity to
the city center and the main train station, further progress is usually
unproblematic.
In the street
Environmental zones have been set
up in Dortmund in accordance with the Fine Dust Ordinance. If you don't
have the appropriate badge, you risk a fine of €100 when entering an
environmental zone. This also applies to foreign road users.
Entry
ban for vehicles of pollutant groups 1+2+3 (Info Federal Environment
Agency)
The city is connected to the German road network with the
A1, A2, A40, A42, A44 and A45 motorways as well as the B1, B54 and B236
federal roads and can therefore be easily reached from practically all
directions.
By boat
Dortmund's canal port is the largest of
its kind in Europe and secures the city's connection to the Rhine and
the North Sea via the Dortmund-Ems Canal. However, since the port is
mainly used for freight traffic, it has recently lost its importance in
the course of structural change.
Dortmund has a branched Stadtbahn network, which is bundled into
three underground routes in the center. The lines U41, U45, U47 and U49
run under the main station. Mid-floor wagons run on the east-west route.
There are no buses within the city ring road that runs past the main
train station. The inner area is accessible with the three subterranean
transfer stations Kampstraße, Reinoldikirche and Stadtgarten, in which
the shopping center and the town hall are located.
A special
feature of Dortmund's public transport system is the H-Bahn.
There is a chronic shortage of parking spaces in inner-city residential
areas. The areas close to the shops, on the other hand, are only
overcrowded at peak times thanks to numerous large multi-storey and
underground car parks. However, visitors to the BVB stadium and the
Westfalenhallen in particular should travel by public transport.
Dortmund was badly damaged in the Second World War, so that almost nothing is left of historical buildings.
1 Holy Cross Church. very often shortened to the name of the
Kreuzkirche.
2 Church of Our Lady. is a 1881-1883 built, listed Roman
Catholic Church. It has been used as a columbarium since 2009.
3 St.
Francis (Franciscan Church) . there rest the bones of the monk Jordan
Mai.
4 St. Nicolai Church . Often also called Nicolaikirche for
short, is a church built in 1929.
5 Paulus Church . was built in
1892-1894, badly damaged in the Second World War, repaired after 1945
and restored in 1994.
6 Trinity Church . In 1900 the construction was
completed in the style of a Romanesque basilica with a cross-shaped
floor plan and a double tower.
Old town house in Neo-Renaissance style and modern Berswordt Hall
from 2002 on Friedensplatz.
Residential and commercial buildings Zum
Ritter and Herbrechtsches Haus on Ostenhellweg.
Alter Markt is the
historic center and one of the oldest squares in the city.
Florian TV
tower, Dortmund, Florianstraße 2 (located in the Westfalenpark). Tel.:
+49 231 58680120 0, email: Kontakt@mein-Florian.de . The tower is more
than 200 meters high, the viewing platform and restaurant are just over
140 meters high. For those interested in technology and history, the
private homepage Dortmund Telecommunications Tower is recommended.
Attention: After the renovation of the elevator system, the tower is
accessible again, but due to fire protection regulations, people with
restricted mobility are not allowed to climb it (emergency ladder
between the floors). Open: Monday to Friday 12:00 - 22:00, Saturday and
Sunday 10:00 - 22:00. Price: €3.50 for park & tower ride/1 person,
€10.50/family with 2 adults and max. 4 children.
Industrial heritage route, themed route 6: the triad of coal, steel
and beer (Dortmund). The route of industrial culture (Ruhr area) lists a
total of 50 stations in Dortmund in its theme route no. 6 triad, coal,
steel, beer. These include collieries and coking plants, miners'
settlements and infrastructure, smelting works and steel industry
companies and of course the large breweries, all of which have helped
shape Dortmund today.
Zollern II/IV colliery, Grubenweg 5, 44388
Dortmund. Phone: +49(0)231-6961-211. The facility, which is now used as
a museum for the social and cultural history of Ruhr mining, was once
the prestige object of what was then the largest mining company in
Germany and represents the first German technical monument of
international importance. Open: Tue-Sun+holidays 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m ,
last admission 5:30 p.m. Price: adults €5, reduced €2.50, people under
18 free, group ticket from 16 people €4.50, free entry for everyone
about once a month (see website).
DASA working world exhibition,
Friedrich-Henkel-Weg 1-25, 44149 Dortmund-Dorstfeld (a few minutes' walk
from the Dortmund-Dorstfeld-Süd/DASA stop on the S1, or bus 447 to the
Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health). Phone:
+49(0)231-9071-2479. German occupational safety exhibition of the
Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. What sounds bone
dry is in fact a highly exciting (and very large) museum with numerous
machines and experiments from the world of work, especially for children
and young people. Many devices from the printing press to industrial
robots to the electron microscope can be switched on if desired and
several employees throughout the museum are waiting to explain them.
Open: Mon-Fri 09:00-17:00, Sat+Sun 10:00-18:00, inconsistent on public
holidays (see website). Price: €8, concessions €5, family ticket (2
adults and up to 3 children) €16, children under 6 free. Accepted
payment methods: EC-Kate (maestro) from 10 euros.
Dortmund Natural
History Museum, Munsterstr. 271, 44145 Dortmund (a short walk from the
Fredenbaum stop on the U41). Phone: +49(0)231-50-24856, fax:
+49(0)231-50-24852, email: naturkundemuseum@stadtdo.de. Science museum
specializing in zoology (including live animals in aquariums), earth
sciences, paleontology and mineralogy. Open: Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00.
German Football Museum, Platz der Deutschen Unity 1 (opposite the main
entrance of Dortmund Central Station). Tel.: +49-231-4764660, fax:
+49-231-47646666, e-mail: info@fussballmuseum.de. Exhibition about
football in Germany with a focus on important games. Open:
Tue-Sun+holidays 10am-6pm, last admission 5pm. Price: Box office: €17,
reduced €14, online: €15, reduced €12. Further discounts for families.
Children under 6 years free.
Dortmund Local Transport Museum,
Mooskamp 23, 44359 Dortmund (nearest tram stop: U47 Obernette, from
there about a 10-minute walk). Phone: +49 (0)251 70 01 77 10, fax: +49
(0)251 700 17 87 10, e-mail: gmbh@bahnhof-mooskamp.de. Collection of
historic trams, trips to the Hansa colliery (which can also be visited,
see separate entry) only from April to October. Open: Open every 3rd
Sunday of the month (Sun) from: 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Price: Adults
€10, children (6-14 years) €5 (incl. guided tour, ride on the historic
tram.
Hansa coking plant, Emscherallee 11, 44369 Dortmund. The coking
plant can only be visited as part of a guided tour, part of the outdoor
area is accessible without admission during opening hours. Between the
Hansa coking plant and the HVDSW local transport museum (see separate
entry), historic tram rides (€6, children €3) take place from April to
October. Open: April-October: Tue-Sun+holidays 10am-6pm, November-March
Tue-Sun+holidays 10am-4pm.
Brewery Museum Dortmund, Steigerstr. 16,
44145 Dortmund (roughly in the middle between the Lortzingstraße (U41)
and Glückaufstraße (U42) tram stops). Tel.: +49(0)231-8400-200, email:
brauereimuseum-dortmund@radeberger-gruppe.de. The Brewery Museum
Dortmund is dedicated to the long and successful brewing tradition of
the largest city in Westphalia and the Ruhr area. It conveys impressions
of the heyday of the beer city of Dortmund since the 1950s, reports on
the history of the numerous breweries in Dortmund and explains the
brewing process, particularly industrial brewing. It provides
information about production and beer consumption before 1950 as well as
about brewing in the Middle Ages. Open: Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun 10:00-17:00,
Thu 10:00-20:00, Sat 12:00-17:00, inconsistent on public holidays.
Price: €5, reduced €2.50, free for under-18s, tickets are also valid in
the Ostwall Museum in the Dortmunder U and in the Museum of Art and
Cultural History.
Hoesch Museum, Eberhardstr. 12, 44145 Dortmund (a
few minutes' walk from the Westfalenhütte U44 stop). Phone:
+49(0)231-84458-56, fax: +49(0)231-84458-73, e-mail:
hoesch-museum@web.de. The exhibition in the Hoesch Museum spans the
beginnings of the iron and steel industry in the Dortmund area from
1840/41 to the structural changes of the present. The highlight in the
Hoesch Museum is the "3D Steelworks", which puts visitors in the
position of a real steelworks. Open: Tue, Wed 13:00 - 17:00, Thu 09:00 -
17:00, Sun 10:00 - 17:00, closed on public holidays. Price: €2.50,
reduced €1.25, Sunday tour at 2:30 p.m. (including admission): €5.00,
reduced €2.50.
Museum of Art and Cultural History Dortmund, Hansastr.
3, 44137 Dortmund (a few minutes' walk from Dortmund main station).
Tel.: +49(0)231-50-25522, fax: +49(0)231-50-25511, e-mail:
mkk@stadtdo.de wikipediacommons. Combination of art and history museum
and the oldest of its kind in the Ruhr area. Paintings and sculptures up
to 1900, furniture and arts and crafts up to the present, as well as
city history and archeology are on display in a historic building. Open:
Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun 10am-5pm, Thu 10am-8pm, Sat 12pm-5pm, Monday closed.
Price: €5.00, reduced €2.50, free for under-18s, admission ticket is
also valid in the Ostwall Museum in the Dortmunder U and in the Brewery
Museum.
Museum Ostwall in the Dortmunder U, Leonie-Reygers-Terrasse
2, 44137 Dortmund (walking distance from the main train station or the
Westentor stop of the U43 and U44 in the tower with the U on top). Tel.:
+49(0)231-50-24723, fax: +49(0)231-50-25244, e-mail: mo@stadtdo.de.
Museum for art of the 20th and 21st centuries with a focus on Fluxus
works, Expressionist and Informel paintings, as well as contemporary
photo and video works. The museum was located on the Ostwall for 60
years and has resided on the 5th and 6th floor of the Dortmunder U since
October 2010. Open: Tue, Wed, Sat, Sun 11am-6pm, Thu, Fri 11am-8pm :00,
Monday closed. Price: €5.00, reduced €2.50, free for under-18s, the
ticket is also valid for the Museum of Art and Cultural History and the
Brewery Museum.
Westfälisches Schulmuseum, An der Wasserburg 1, 44379
Dortmund (near the U44 stop Walbertstr./Schulmuseum, the S4 train
station Dortmund-Marten Süd is a little further away). Tel.:
+49(0)231-613095, fax: +49(0)231-7261802, e-mail:
schulmuseum@stadtdo.de. One of the largest school history collections in
Germany, the permanent exhibition focuses on school lessons towards the
end of the Middle Ages, during the reign of Wilhelm II and during the
Nazi era. Open: Tue-Sun 10am-5pm, Monday closed. Price: Free entry for
everyone.
Children's Museum Adlerturm - Dortmund in the Middle Ages,
Günter-Samtlebe-Platz 2 (formerly Ostwall 51a), 44135 Dortmund (nearest
tram stop is Stadtgarten (U41, U42, U45, U46, U47, U49), next S-Bahn
station is Dortmund Stadthaus ( S4)). Phone: +49(0)231-50-26031, fax:
+49(0)231-50-25511, email: adlerturm@dortmund.de. Children's Museum
designed for 4-12 year olds. Dortmund's city history in the Middle Ages
can be experienced and touched in the Eagle Tower, part of the medieval
city wall. Open: Tue, Wed, Fri 10:00-13:00, Thu, Sun 10:00-17:00, Sat
12:00-17:00, closed on Mondays. Price: Free entry for everyone.
Borusseum, Strobelallee 50, 44139 Dortmund (Stadtbahn U45*: Stadion,
otherwise U45, U46 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund Signal-Iduna-Park station.
Entrance on the north-east corner of the Signal-Iduna-Park stadium).
Phone: +49(0)231-9020-1368, fax: +49(0)231-9020-1344, e-mail:
borusseum@bvb.de. Multimedia presentation of the club's history, the
highlights are the trophies won. Open: Mon-Fri (school days) 10:00 a.m.
- 6:00 p.m., Sat, Sun, public holidays and school holidays 9:30 a.m. -
6:00 p.m., closed on home game days from the start of the game, last
admission 30 minutes before closing time. Price: €6, concessions €4,
family ticket €15, children under 6 years free, persons under 14 years
are only admitted when accompanied by an adult. Accepted payment
methods: EC card (maestro).
Steinwache memorial site, Steinstr. 50,
44147 Dortmund (a few minutes' walk from the north entrance of
Dortmund's main train station). Phone: +49(0)231-50-25002, fax:
+49(0)231-50-26011, email: stadtarchiv-dortmund@stadtdo.de. During the
Nazi era, more than 66,000 people were held in the old Dortmund police
prison and often mistreated by the Gestapo. The permanent exhibition
Resistance and Persecution in Dortmund 1933-1945 illustrates both the
resistance and the Nazi persecution apparatus on around 1,200 square
meters on 5 floors. The Holocaust, sterilization and euthanasia programs
and the persecution of forced laborers are also discussed. Open: Tue-Sun
10:00-17:00. Price: Free entry for everyone.
Ostenhellweg and Westenhellweg are the main shopping streets in the pedestrian zone. The Hellweg is a trade route from Germanic times that connects the Rhine and Weser as the Westfälischer Hellweg. Due to the war damage, there is mainly modern architecture. The rebuilt Reinoldikirche stands right next to the pylon that supports the roof of the stop of the same name.
Westfalenpark, An der Buschmühle 3, 44139 Dortmund. Note: All parking
spaces are chargeable. The Westfalenpark in Dortmund, with its 60
hectares and the well-known, 209 meter high Florian Tower, has been an
extremely popular leisure destination for young and old since it was
founded in 1890 and is particularly popular at weekends. In the
extensive park facilities and on special tours (Tree, scent and rose
tour) you can take long walks without getting bored. The revolving
restaurant at the top of the tower offers not only the opportunity to
refresh yourself but also a wonderful view of the surrounding area and
is therefore always well frequented. The rosarium in the park is the
third largest collection of roses in the world with over 2,600 different
types of roses, and the Westfalenpark serves as an impressive backdrop
for numerous open-air events. There is also a small park railway. Open:
every day 9.00 a.m. – 11.00 p.m.; Exceptions to events are possible.
Price: Admission: €3 to €4, after 6 p.m.: €1.50, 1-4 children: €3 more,
with ascent to the tower: €5, 1-4 children: €5 more.
Rombergpark
Botanical Garden, Am Rombergpark 49b, 44225 Dortmund. The 65-hectare
botanical garden and landscape park impresses with its world-renowned
collection of trees (arboretum), some of which are over 100 years old.
Guided tours are offered regularly. Visitors will also find many special
features beyond the main path, such as a beautiful English perennial
garden or the handkerchief tree, which never ceases to amaze when it
blooms in April-June. Admission free. Plant showrooms open: Oct – Mar 10
a.m. – 4 p.m., Apr – Sep 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., admission €2, small groups
€4. Open: all year round.
Zoo, Mergelteichstraße 80. Open: March 16 – October 15, 9 a.m. – 6.30
p.m., otherwise 1-2 hours shorter. Price: €7.50, with 1-4 children:
€12.50 − €27.50.
The main attraction of the Dortmund Christmas market
on Hansaplatz is the largest Christmas tree in the world. The foundation
weighs 60 tons, the footprint for the 45 meter high tree is 18×18
meters. The tree is assembled from 1,700 individual spruces and about
13,000 lights. It even has its own sprinkler system that can spray 3200
liters of water per minute.
Casino
Casino Hohensyburg, Hohensyburger Strasse 200.
Bathing/sauna
Revierpark Wischlingen, Höfkerstr. 12. Large swimming
pool with slides and sauna area.
There is excellent shopping in Dortmund, which is why it is also a
popular shopping city in the Ruhr area. The inner city is divided into
two halves by Westen- and Ostenhellweg (Hellweg = old trade route). Here
you can find the best-known shops that are represented in many major
German cities.
A little north of Hellweg is the Brückstrasse
district with smaller, alternative shops.
The Thier-Galerie, a
large shopping center with around 160 shops, has been on Westenhellweg
since 2011. The Thier Gallery stretches from Westenhellweg to Wall. On
the top floor you can eat in various fast food restaurants.
Lunch
Harenberg Center canteen, Königswall 21, 44137 Dortmund.
Tel.: +49 231 9056163. An absolute insider tip is the canteen of the
Harenberg publishing house on the 5th floor of the Harenberg Center,
which is also open to the public. Perhaps also suitable for those
passing through, as it is about three minutes from the main train
station. Delicious meals that change daily at lunchtime and a fresh
salad buffet at reasonable prices (4.50-12.50 euros for menus with a
drink), a view of Dortmund city center included in the price. Terrace in
summer. Very friendly staff. Take the opportunity right away and go to
the 18th floor after lunch = panoramic view. The location is a must for
every travel hacker. Open: lunchtime only.
Adult Education Center
Bistro Leo, Löwenhof, Hansastr. 2-4, 44137 Dortmund. An alternative to
the Harenberg Center canteen is the VHS canteen, which also offers
inexpensive edible food in the middle of the city. The bistro is on the
ground floor of the adult education center. Prices are €7-10 per menu.
The location is about 7 minutes from the main train station and 5
minutes from the shopping streets.
restaurants
Da Raffaele,
Dortmunder Landstr. 145 in Dortmund ski jump. An Italian restaurant for
high demands.
Pizzeria Bari, Flughafenstrasse 403, 44328
Dortmund-Scharnhorst. Tel.: +49 231 2413181. Karel Gott was a guest in
this small pizzeria (see picture behind the counter with the owner). It
is a combination of pizzeria takeaway (for take away) and a fine room
for guests. Prices for pizzas and meals vary between 6-13 euros. The
cauliflower casserole "Florentine style" is a dream. Consistent quality.
Nice clean tables with white tablecloths and wine glasses. Terrace in
summer. In winter there is a fire in the fireplace and it is very cozy
there. Very busy on public holidays, so reservations are recommended.
With tasty treats, Hohe Strasse 61a, 44139 Dortmund. Phone: +49 231
95097095, email: info@schmackes-dortmund.de. Open: Mon – Thu 4.30pm –
10pm, Fri 4.30pm – 11pm, Sat 12pm – 11pm, Sun 12pm – 10pm.
candy
Kleine Café Budapest, Chemnitzer Strasse 9, 44139 Dortmund. Tel: +49 231
142917. Serves excellent cakes and tarts.
Cafe Schrader, Kaiserstr.
31, 44135 Dortmund. Phone: +49 231 523249, fax: +49 231 556295, e-mail:
andy.schrader@arcor.de. Almost opposite the district court. Reputed to
be the best pastry shop in town. Family run, patio, indoor area with
lots of tables, lots of slices of cake to choose from, chocolates, all
delicious, friendly and professional. Larger quantities only on order,
but I spontaneously bought whole cakes (around 30 €) straight away. Next
to the pastry shop is a florist, a good combination if you need quick
gifts for a birthday or similar occasions. Cake + bouquet of flowers in
10 minutes you have everything together and you can definitely be proud
of it.
The Dortmund Theater on Hansastraße is a five-section theater with
opera, ballet, concerts, drama and children's and youth theatre. With
500 employees, it is one of the largest theaters in Germany.
The
Dortmund Concert Hall on Brückstraße offers concerts in the fields of
classical music, jazz, world music and pop throughout the year.
In addition to exciting cabaret, the Theater Fletch Bizzel at
Humboldtstraße 45 also offers workshops and courses on various topics.
The comedy, music and cabaret festival "RuhrHOCHdeutsch" has always
offered a top-class, international program at moderate admission prices
in the summer months for more than 10 years
The open-air festival
Juicy Beats also offers an exciting, international lineup in the
Westfalenpark every year.
Dortmund has a very good pub culture and has one of the highest density of drinking halls in the Ruhr area.
Dorint Hotel Dortmund An den Westfalenhallen, Lindemannstrasse 88,
44137 Dortmund. Tel.: +49 231 9113 0, fax: +49 231 9113 999, e-mail:
info.dortmund@dorint.com facebook. Price: from €85 per room/night.
A&O Dortmund main station, Königswall 2 (downtown, directly at the old
castle gate, main station within walking distance). Tel.: +49 231 22 68
86 - 43 00, email: booking@aohostels.com. Feature: 105 rooms. Payment
types accepted: debit card, credit card.
DJH Youth Hostel Dortmund,
Silberstrasse 24-26, 44137 Dortmund. Phone: +49231 140074, +49231
140075, email: jgh-dortmund@djh-wl.de. a few minutes walk from the main
train station.
Dortmund has a university, a technical college, several vocational colleges and other private or public colleges and universities. The infrastructure with regard to kindergartens and primary, special and secondary schools is well developed.
After decades of history in the coal and steel industry, Dortmund is
in the midst of structural change towards service, logistics and
education. The abandoned areas of the former Hüttenwerke Union (in the
west), Phoenix (in the south-east) and above all the Westfalenhütte in
the north-east offer great opportunities for the resettlement of
space-intensive trade; The wasteland of the Westfalenhütte, which used
to employ almost 20,000 people, is currently the largest old industrial
open space in Europe at approx. 3 x 5 km.
New trades are growing
on the huge areas of the former steelworks, especially in processing and
logistics. This is mainly to the west of the city center, on the edge of
the Emscher Valley. Despite its somewhat declining importance, the port
is still a focal point for jobs. At the port, there are mainly areas for
the recycling industry.
The university on the western ridge is
the largest employer in Dortmund. Institutes and high-tech manufacturing
companies have settled in the vicinity of the university. The largest
and best-known among them is the special chip producer ELMOS. But
manufacturing specialists and robotics engineering companies are also
important employers in Dortmund.
The many insurance companies
along the B1, the Rheinlanddamm and the Westfalendamm, some of which
operate their headquarters and some of their NRW regional branches in
Dortmund, have played an increasingly important role for almost two
decades.
Dortmund is the headquarters of UUNet, one of the major
Internet providers in Germany, which also offers hosting services for
companies, and many more. for the WAZ group in Essen with the Cityweb.
In the south near the B54, on the outskirts of Phoenix-West, in the
buildings of the former Hoesch data processing, there is a large
Hewlett-Packard branch, which carries out the activities of the
successor companies of the Krupp and ThyssenKrupp group (Triaton )
bought up and continue.
Dortmund is a generally very safe city. Criminal and administrative offense reports can be filed with the city guard in the Brückstrasse district.
The post office has a large parcel branch northwest of the main train
station.
The Florian Tower on the edge of the Westfalenpark is a
landmark as a television tower. Another television tower stands on the
south-eastern ridge of Dortmund-Höchsten.
Due to its border location between the flat North German lowlands and
the low mountain ranges of the Sauerland and the nearby Bergisches Land,
as well as due to the transport connections, Dortmund offers an enormous
number of excursion possibilities.
The people of Dortmund make
their excursions in the local area in the Westfalen Park, in the
Fredenbaum Park to the north and in the western Emscher Valley. Above
all, the north-east of Dortmund, behind the districts of Ewing in the
direction of Grevel, Kurl and Lanstrop, is already rural. Peasant
villages alternate with each about a kilometer wide strip of fields.
This edge zone of southern Münsterland is ideal for walking and cycling.
Excursions can also be found along the canals. The Revierpark
Wischlingen in the northwest of Dortmund offers further possibilities,
among other things with an indoor swimming pool paradise.
The
southern Ruhr Valley and the Hohensyburg with their forests and
campsites are excursion areas. The wooded ridge from Aplerbeck via
Dortmund-Höchsten via Hohensyburg (largest casino in North
Rhine-Westphalia) to Wetter is a local recreation area. Halfway up the
slope in the south of Dortmund is the large zoo.
The Möhnesee is
only about 30km to the east and a classic excursion area for the entire
Ruhr area as well as for Dortmund in particular. In the neighboring town
of Hagen, in a small river valley to the south, there is a museum on the
history of handicrafts, for which half-timbered houses from all over
northern Germany were brought together, rebuilt and partly set up again
with handicraft businesses, such as a blacksmith shop and a bakery.
The northwest of Dortmund has a real highlight of industrial
architecture to offer with the Zollern colliery in the district of
Bövinghausen, part of the Westphalian Industrial Museum. The machine
hall with the winding machines, some of which are ready for operation,
the marble switchboards and the oval Art Nouveau glass facade were
renovated between 2007 and 2009.
Dortmund is 86 m above sea level. NHN, ♁51° 30′ 51″ N, 7° 27′ 50″ E.
According to the state surveying office of North Rhine-Westphalia, the
Dortmund district of Aplerbecker Mark is even located at the coordinates
♁51° 28′ 42″ N, 7° 33′ 18 ″ O in the middle of North Rhine-Westphalia.
In Dortmund, as in all of Germany, Central European Time applies, the
mean local time lags behind this by 30 minutes and 7.7 seconds.
Dortmund is located in the southwest of the Westphalian Bay, the
southern extension of the North German Plain on the border to the German
Central Uplands; to the south rise the foothills of the Sauerland and
the Ardeygebirge, which includes the Dortmunder Rücken in the east of
the city as the northernmost elevation. Behind this lies the Werl-Unnaer
Börde, as part of the Hellwegbörden, to the north are the Lippetal and
the Lipper Höhen in Münsterland. The West is defined by the Ruhr region
conurbation, to which Dortmund belongs to the eastern, Westphalian part.
The city center of Dortmund lies on the border between northern flat
and southern hill country, the so-called Westphalian Hellweg;
Accordingly, the city has a share in the natural areas of the Hellweg
Boerden and Westenhellweg. Since the upper reaches of the Emscher also
flow through Dortmund, it is also part of the Emscherland natural area
further north. In the south, below the Hohensyburg, the middle course of
the Ruhr forms the city limits, into which the Lenne flows in the Hagen
area and forms the Hengsteysee there. The Dortmund-Ems canal, which
leads to the north, also begins in Dortmund's city harbour.
bodies of water
The Dortmund urban area is relatively poor in natural
bodies of water. In addition to the Ruhr in the south of Dortmund on the
city limits to the cities of Hagen and Herdecke, the only major
watercourse is the Emscher River, which runs through the city area from
east to west. In addition, there are numerous smaller streams such as
the Hörder Bach, Rüpingsbach, Schondelle, Roßbach or Körnebach, which
flow into the first-mentioned rivers or belong to the Lippe catchment
area. Many of the streams were used for sewage disposal, but were
gradually restored to their natural state in the course of the Emscher
and Seseke renaturation. The area surrounding the streams was
significantly upgraded as a result of the renaturation. In addition, the
Dortmund-Ems Canal is a federal waterway between the Dortmund city
harbor and Papenburg/Ems.
With Hallerey, Lanstroper See,
Pleckenbrinksee and Brunosee in the Beerenbruch nature reserve, four
lakes are closely linked to Dortmund's mining history. These bodies of
water were created by mountain subsidence. Furthermore, two more lakes
were artificially created with the Hengsteysee and Phoenix-See.
expansion
The urban area of Dortmund covers 280.707 km². This puts
Dortmund in 26th place among the largest municipalities in Germany and
in ninth place among the major cities. In North Rhine-Westphalia, its
area is only surpassed by the cities of Cologne and Münster and the city
of Schmallenberg.
The northernmost point of Dortmund lies between
the Groppenbruch district and Lünen-Brambauer in the area of the former
municipality of Schwieringhausen (♁51° 36′ 5″ N, 7° 25′ 11″ E), the
southernmost point 21 km away from this opposite the Lenne estuary (
♁51° 25′ 1″ N, 7° 29′ 38″ E), the easternmost point of Dortmund is north
of the airport in the Wickede district and borders on Unna-Massen (♁51°
31′ 44″ N, 7° 38′ 20 ″ O), the westernmost 23 km away from this in the
district of Holte on the border with Bochum (♁51° 30′ 32″ N, 7° 18′ 12″
E). You can roughly imagine these two axes as the diagonals of a square
that forms the Dortmund city area. The highest elevation in Dortmund is
the Klusenberg in the Syburg district at 254.33 m above sea level. NHN,
the lowest point is at 49.5 m above sea level. NHN in the Derne
district.
neighboring communities
Dortmund borders 21 km on
the district of Recklinghausen with the towns of Castrop-Rauxel in the
west and Waltrop in the north-west. From north to south-east, Dortmund
is surrounded by the district of Unna with the towns of Lünen in the
north, Kamen in the north-east, Unna in the east, the municipality of
Holzwickede and the town of Schwerte (both in the south-east) for a
total of 76 km. This is followed by the only two-kilometre-long city
boundary to the independent city of Hagen directly to the south. In the
south-west of Dortmund, the city borders the Ennepe-Ruhr district with
the cities of Herdecke and Witten for a distance of 17 km. Finally,
precisely to the west is the independent city of Bochum, the city limits
here are ten kilometers long. The Dortmund city limits therefore cover a
total of 126 km.
political geography
Dortmund is historically
a part of Westphalia and is now in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The city is independent of a district and is located in the Arnsberg
administrative district. It belongs to both the Regional Association of
Westphalia-Lippe and the Regional Association of the Ruhr. It is also a
member of other special-purpose associations such as the Rhein-Ruhr
Transport Association, the Ruhr Association, the Emscher Cooperative and
the Lippe Association. Dortmund is a regional center in North
Rhine-Westphalia and part of the European Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan
region. It is one of the four major centers of the Ruhr area, along with
Essen, Duisburg and Bochum, all of which are in the so-called Hellweg
zone.
Since January 1, 1975, the city of Dortmund has been
divided into twelve districts.
These are the three inner city
districts west, north and east as well as the ring of nine other
districts surrounding them, clockwise (starting in the north) Eving,
Scharnhorst, Brackel, Aplerbeck, Hörde, Hombruch, Lütgendortmund,
Huckarde and Mengede. Each of these city districts elects a district
representative in the local elections, and these elect a district mayor
from among their ranks. There are also district administration offices
in the outlying districts.
Below the city districts, the city is
further divided into 62 statistical districts and these in turn into a
total of 170 statistical sub-districts. Outside the inner city
districts, these often correspond to the formerly independent localities
incorporated into the city of Dortmund. In addition to this official
classification, there are also the urban districts listed below.
Like all of Germany, Dortmund is located in a temperate climate zone.
The city is assigned to the north-west German climatic area and is
located on the border between the climatic districts of Munster and
Sauerland and thus in the transition area between Atlantic-maritime and
continental climate.
Mild winters and relatively cool summers are
characteristic. The mean annual temperature is 9–10 °C, the long-term
average rainfall is 750 mm. Predominant wind direction is southwest.
Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, with
continuous rain dominating in winter and shorter but heavier rain
showers in summer. Accordingly, the maximum is reached in July with
80-90 mm, the minimum is 40-50 mm in February. The temperature
fluctuations are also rather small at under 20 °C, the coldest month is
January with -6 to 11 °C, the warmest is in August with 10-35 °C. In
Dortmund, climatic characteristics of densely populated areas can be
seen, for example heat islands that are typical of an urban climate
form.
The first traces of settlement in today's Dortmund city area go back
to the Neolithic Age. Dortmund was first mentioned in 882 as Throtmanni.
The first mention of Dortmund's market rights dates back to the year
990. According to legend, Reinoldus became the city's patron saint in
the 11th century.
In 1152 there was a court in Dortmund under
King Friedrich Barbarossa, who later became Emperor. As a result, more
and more craftsmen and traders settled around the royal palace and
contributed to the gradual urbanization of Dortmund. As early as 1200,
the city center reached its current size of 82 hectares and was
fortified with city walls. In 1232 (or 1231) there was a great fire in
the city. Probably caused by arson, it almost completely destroyed the
city. The fire probably raged above all in the densely populated city
center north of Hellweg and not only destroyed the wooden houses of
shopkeepers and craftsmen, but also the stone Reinoldikirche. The city's
archives were also lost as a result of the fire, and with them all the
documents from the time before the city fire. The privileges of
Dortmund, which had been lost in the city fire, were renewed in 1236 by
Frederick II and the city of Dortmund (Latin [burgus] Tremonia) was
designated as an imperial city (literally: "civitas nostra Tremoniensis
imperalis") for the first time.
In 1293 the city was granted the
right to brew beer and an unprecedented development of the beer industry
began within the city. After the great fire in the city, the influence
of Dortmund's citizens increased. This reached far beyond the city
limits and was so strong that around 1252 the Baltic city of Memel was
founded with the help of Dortmund merchants and the idea of naming the
city "Neu-Dortmund" was considered. This citizenry or patriciate, which
self-confidently called themselves rempublicam Tremoniensem gubernantes
(roughly: ruling lords of the state of Dortmund), consisted of
influential families such as the Kleppings, Sudermanns, von Wickedes,
Swartes, Muddepennings, vom Berges, Lembergs, Berswordts, Wales and
Brakes . The latter all had excellent trade relations throughout Europe
and in particular to England. The supremacy of the Dortmund merchants
even led to the fact that England's king, Edward III. in 1339 pledged
the English royal crown to a consortium led by Dortmund merchants.
In 1389, Dortmund survived the Great Dortmund Feud against the Count
von der Mark and the Archbishop of Cologne and their allies. However,
the economic decline of the city was slowly initiated. This process was
continued and intensified by the Thirty Years' War and led to the city
declining to the status of a small farming town and the number of
inhabitants falling to 4500 by 1793. Dortmund lost its status as a free
imperial city as a result of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803
and came as an exclave to the Principality of Orange-Nassau. In 1808, as
part of the Napoleonic Grand Duchy of Berg, Dortmund became the
prefecture of the Ruhr department. The Ruhr department consisted of the
three arrondissements of Dortmund, Hamm and Hagen. At its head was the
prefect, Freiherr Gisbert von Romberg zu Brünninghausen. Dortmund was
chosen as the capital of the Ruhr department because it had a more
favorable location and suitable administrative buildings, which made the
former imperial city the seat of numerous administrative and judicial
authorities. After the Prussian victory over Napoleon, Dortmund finally
fell to the Prussian province of Westphalia in 1815. In 1817 Dortmund
became the seat of a district within the administrative district of
Arnsberg, from which Dortmund left in 1875 as an immediate city (city
district).
The decline could only be stopped with the start of
industrialization at the beginning of the 19th century. According to the
original cadastral survey from 1826, around 4000 people lived within the
ramparts in 940 houses and 453 stables and barns. The cityscape was
characterized by narrow, unpaved streets and alleys and many
half-timbered houses. Only the four large medieval town churches, the
old town hall and a few stone secular buildings testified to the great
cultural heritage of the past.
From the middle of the 19th
century, the rise of Dortmund and the change to an industrial city began
due to coal mining and steel processing. Since the opening of the
Cologne-Minden railway in 1847, Dortmund has become an important
transport hub in the Ruhr area. Another significant contribution to
economic development came in 1899 with the opening of the Dortmund-Ems
Canal and with it the port. This infrastructure paved the way for
Dortmund to become a big city. The city grew beyond the narrow confines
of the medieval ramparts. The expansion initially took place to the
north around the new main station. From 1858, the city master builder
Ludwig built a right-angled street network with decorative squares
(Steinplatz, Nordmarkt, Borsigplatz) in the north of Dortmund.
After the railway line of the Rhenish Railway Company to Dortmund's
southern railway station was opened in 1874, the area south-east of the
historic ramparts was developed for urban planning purposes. In contrast
to the compact block edge areas in the northern part of the city, the
Kaiserviertel and the southern part of the city were primarily designed
with a loose development with representative city villas and became the
preferred residential area of industrialists and entrepreneurs. In 1876,
the approx. 16 hectare Ostpark was opened as a park-like green space.
This was set up as the second municipal cemetery after the
"Westentotenhof", today's Westpark. This second cemetery complex is
related to the rapid population growth in the course of the
industrialization of the Ruhr area. While around 4,000 people lived in
Dortmund when the Westentotenhof was founded in 1811, in 1876 there were
over 50,000.
City facilities such as the orphanage, the Luisen
Hospital and, in 1896, the Royal Foreman School for mechanical
engineers, the forerunner of today’s Dortmund University of Applied
Sciences at the same location, were established south of the historic
ramparts. Between 1902 and 1908, the civil servants' housing association
began extensive construction work and erected extensive residential
buildings in the immediate vicinity of the foreman school. The
Wilhelminian style buildings served primarily as homes for civil
servants. In the course of urbanization, infrastructure facilities such
as schools and churches were also built. Construction of the
Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche, which today gives the Kreuzviertel its name, began
in 1914 and was inaugurated two years later. With the First World War,
the development of the district was largely completed, and about 10,000
people lived here.
A wave of incorporations began as early as
1905 with the incorporation of Körne, which culminated in the law on the
municipal reorganization of the Ruhr area of 1928 with the incorporation
of the city of Hörde (which received city rights as early as 1340).
Since the incorporations of 1928 and 1929, the area of Dortmund has been
more in the area of the former County of Mark than in the area of the
former Free Imperial City of Dortmund. By the outbreak of the Second
World War, the townscape had changed from a small farming town to a
metropolitan one. Within a few years, the city center was expanded by
the new construction of representative buildings, such as the synagogue,
department store by Althoff in 1904, the Krügerhaus in 1912, or the
entire area surrounding the station through the construction of a new
main station, the theatre, the post office and the Löwenhof as a trading
center or urban planning measures as the breakthrough Hansastraße
radically changed.
During the Second World War, more than 90
percent of the city, including its historic churches, was destroyed in
the center by a total of 105 air raids and more than 22,242 tons of
bombs. The high percentage is partly due to the eight major attacks in
which the city of Dortmund became the sole target of an attack. During
the major attack of March 12, 1945, more than 4,800 tons of bombs hit
the city. This attack was the heaviest bombing raid against a German
city. After this last momentous attack, all social and economic life
came to a standstill. According to contemporary reports, it was
initially considered not to rebuild the inner city.
However, the
actual reconstruction was determined by the infrastructure lines
existing in the ground and the roads above them, which were first
cleared in post-war everyday life as transport and connection routes.
Thus, dealing with the inner cities was seen as a possibility for
reconstruction and modification, rather than a complete redesign.
However, the public awareness of the post-war period was characterized
by the desire not to repeat the urban situation as a product of
industrialization on the layout of the medieval city. The planning goal
of the reconstruction years was therefore a new, open and sustainable
Dortmund, which should consciously set itself apart from the past and
the old historical heritage. Despite fierce resistance from Dortmund's
population, many buildings that shaped the cityscape, such as the town
hall or the synagogue, were demolished or not rebuilt.
Reconstruction proceeded quickly and in 1950 the city had 500,000
inhabitants. With an unemployment rate of 2.3%, there was full
employment in 1952 and the excellent economic conditions increasingly
attracted immigrants, especially refugees from the eastern regions. In
1956, Dortmund already had 624,000 inhabitants. In 1965, the city
reached an all-time high with 658,075 inhabitants.
place name
Dortmund was first mentioned in the Werdener Urbar, which was created
between 880 and 884. The Latin entry reads: “In Throtmanni liber homo
Arnold viii den nob solvit.” (German: "In Throtmanni the free man Arnold
pays us 8 pfennigs."). After that there is a large number of different
names that go back to the same phonetic root. Their respective use in
the sources appears arbitrary and accidental.
A year after his
stay in Dortmund, King Friedrich Barbarossa issued a document to
Archbishop Arnold II von Wied of Cologne in 1152, which contained the
Latin term "in burgo Tremonia" (German: "in the city of Tremonia"). The
name Tremonia is not derived from Throtmanni. It is assumed that the
good sound and the supposed meaning played a role in the use of this
term. The name would then be composed of the words tres or tria (German:
three) and moenia (German: wall) and mean three-walled city.
Only
with the appearance of German sources in the 14th century was the old
form taken up again in a linguistically further developed form. In
Westphalian Platt, it was then shortened to [dyœɐpm]. [dyœɐpm] is rarely
used today, the Latin tremonia is still encountered occasionally.
The word meaning of Dortmund is generally assumed to be a
determinative compound. The determinant is probably Germanic *þrut-,
*þrūt- meaning throat / throat / gullet / throat. The meaning of the
root word is unclear. According to one theory, it is the old Saxon water
word -manni, -menni, -minni. According to another theory, it is Germanic
*-munt meaning mountain/hill/elevation/elevation. In the first theory
the meaning would be Kehlbach / Gurgelbach / settlement by the gurgling
waters, in the second theory as *Throdmend - mountain with a notch /
mountain with a notch / hill with a notch / hill with a notch. Both
interpretations are about a geographical feature that is built over
today and can no longer be seen or - in the second theory - indicates a
castle north of the city walls with the river Kuckelke as an incision.
The existence of such a castle is disputed.
A folk etymological
interpretation is known from late medieval chroniclers, according to
which there were two villages, the alde and the new Dorp, both of which
were near Munda Castle. There was a dispute between the Saxons and the
Romans – or even the Franks – about this castle. The Burgmannen
interpreted the battle cry trucide as truz or trot and mockingly called
the attackers Trotmanni (trutz men). The designation was then
transferred to the place.
In the past, the city was called
Dortmond in Dutch, Tremonia in Spanish, and Trémoigne in Old French.
However, these exonyms have fallen out of use and the city is now
referred to internationally by its German name.
Incorporations
Characteristic of today's Dortmund urban area is the spatially strong
demarcation of individual parts of the city from their neighboring parts
by fields, forests or traffic areas. This circumstance is based on the
relatively small-scale incorporation of formerly independent
communities. Some larger districts such as the district centers of
Hörde, Aplerbeck or Mengede still clearly convey their former
independence through the size of their district centers and their
shopping streets.
The following communities were incorporated
into the city of Dortmund:
April 1, 1905: Municipality of Körne
June 10, 1914: Municipalities of Deusen, Dorstfeld, Eving, Huckarde,
Kemminghausen, Lindenhorst, Rahm and Wischlingen
April 1, 1918:
Municipalities of Brackel and Wambel
April 1, 1928: City of Hörde and
from the dissolved district of Dortmund the communities of Asseln,
Bodelschwingh, Bövinghausen near Lütgendortmund, Brechten,
Brüninghausen, Derne, Ellinghausen, Grevel, Holthausen near Brechten,
Husen, Kirchderne, Kirchlinde, Kley, Kurl, Lanstrop, Lütgendortmund,
Marten, Mengede, Nette, Oespel, Westerfilde and Wickede
August 1,
1929: Parts of the community of Somborn (Bochum district) and from the
dissolved Hörde district the communities of Aplerbeck, Barop, Berghofen,
Kirchhörde, Schüren, Syburg and Wellinghofen as well as parts of the
community of Sölde
As part of the municipal reorganization in North
Rhine-Westphalia, the municipalities of Holzen and Lichtendorf were
incorporated into Dortmund on January 1, 1975 by the Ruhr Area Act.
However, some parcels of land in these communities went to the town of
Schwerte. Dortmund also received some parcels from the town of
Westhofen, which was incorporated into Schwerte, and through the
Sauerland/Paderborn Act, some parcels from the municipality of
Garenfeld, which was incorporated into Hagen.