Dortmund

History

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.

After 1320, the city appeared in writing as "Dorpmunde". In the years leading up to 1344, the English King even borrowed money from well-heeled Dortmund merchant families Berswordt and Klepping, offering the regal crown as security. In 1388, Count von Mark joined forces with Archbishop of Cologne and issued declarations of a feud against the town. Following a major siege lasting 18 months, peace negotiations took place and Dortmund emerged victorious. After Cologne was excluded after the Anglo-Hanseatic War (1470–74), Dortmund was made capital of the Rhine-Westphalian and Netherlands Circle. The 1661 earthquake made the Reinoldikirche collapse. It was part of Grand Duchy of Berg between 1806 and 1813 before passing to Prussian rule. The state mining authority of the Ruhr area was founded in 1815 and moved from Bochum to Dortmund. 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. The town expanded into a city, with the population rising from 57,742 in 1875 to 379,950 in 1905. Sprawling residential areas like the North, East, Union and Kreuz district sprang up in less than 10 years. 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. The bombings destroyed about 66% of Dortmund homes. The devastating bombing raids of the 12th March 1945 with 1,108 aircraft (748 Lancasters, 292 Halifaxes, 68 Mosquitos) destroyed 98% of buildings in the inner city center and 4,851 tonnes of bombs were dropped through Dortmund city centre and the south of the city; this was a record to a single target in the whole of World war II.

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 simple but successful postwar rebuilding has resulted in a very mixed and unique cityscape. 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.

Location

Dortmund is an independent city located in the east of the Ruhr area, one of the largest urban areas in Europe (see also: megalopolis), comprising eleven independent cities and four districts with some 5.3 million inhabitants. The city limits of Dortmund itself are 87 km (54 mi) long and border twelve cities, two independent and ten kreisangehörig (i.e., belonging to a district), with a total population of approximately 2.4 million. The following cities border Dortmund (clockwise starting from north-east): Bochum, Castrop-Rauxel, Waltrop, Lünen, Kamen, Unna, Holzwickede, Schwerte, Hagen, Herdecke and Witten. Historically speaking, Dortmund is a part of Westphalia which is situated in the Bundesland North Rhine-Westphalia. Moreover, Dortmund is part of Westphalian Lowland and adjoins with the Ardey Hills in the south of the city to the Sauerland.

The lowest point can be found in the northern borough of Brechten at 48,9m, the highest point in the borough of Syburg at 254,3 m.

Boroughs

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.

Demographics

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. During the 19th century the area around Dortmund called Ruhr attracted up to 500,000 ethnic Poles, Masurians and Silesians from East Prussia and Silesia in a migration known as Ostflucht (flight from the east). Most of the new inhabitants came from Eastern Europe, but immigrants also came from France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Almost all their descendants today speak German as a mother tongue, and for various reasons they do not identify with their Polish roots and traditions, often only their Polish family names remaining as a sign of their past. 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. Today with a population of 595,624 (2015) the City of Dortmund is the eighth largest city in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf. It is also the largest city in the Ruhr agglomeration.

Contrary to earlier projections, population figures have been on the rise in 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. In 2016 it was announced that the population was back above 600,000.

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.

Religion

Dortmund was historically a Protestant-dominated city. However, during the 19th century an increasing number of Catholics moved there from East Prussia, Silesia and Poland. As of 2014 the largest Christian denominations were Protestantism (29.9%) and Roman Catholicism (27.4% of the population). Furthermore, in Dortmund the Greek Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Macedonian Orthodox Church are represented. The Church of the Holy Apostles (gre. I.N. Αγίων Αποστόλων Ντόρτμουντ - I.N. Agíon Apostólon Dortmund) was the first Greek church in Germany to be founded due to the influx of "guest workers". Also Dortmund is home of the New Apostolic Church in North Rhine-Westphalia with more than 84,944 community members.

The Jewish community has a history dating back to Medieval times and has always ranked among the largest in Westphalia. Dortmund is home to the National Association of Jewish Communities of Westfalen-Lippe. The synagogues operate there in City center, Hörde and Dorstfeld. Due to the growing immigration of people from Muslim countries beginning in the 1960s. Dortmund has a large Muslim community with more than 30 Mosques.

Politics

Dortmund's current Bürgermeister (mayor) is Ullrich Sierau with variable majorities between SPD, CDU and Alliance '90/The Greens

City government past and present

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. During the Nazi era (1933–1945), mayors were installed by the Nazi Party. After World War II, the military government of the British occupation zone installed a new mayor and a municipal constitution modeled on that of British cities. The first major elected by the population of Dortmund was Fritz Henßler. 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.

The last municipal election was held on 25. May 2014. The SPD reached 38,2% (36 seats), CDU 27,2% (26 seats), die Grünen 15,4% (15 seats), Die Linke 6,8% (6 seats), the AfD 3,4% (3 seats), the FDP 2,4% (2 seats), Piraten 2,3% (2 seats), Die Rechte 1,0% (1 seat), the Bürgerliste für Dortmund 1,0% (1 seat), the NPD 0,9% (1 seat) und the Freie Bürger-Initiative 0,7% (1 seats).

Current composition of the local council (July 2014):

International relations

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

Main sights

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 near-complete destruction of Dortmund's city centre during World War II (98%) has resulted in a varied architectural landscape. 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.

Urban districts

Unlike the Dortmund city centre, much of the inner districts around the old medieval centre escaped damage in the second world war and post war redevelopment.

Kreuzviertel

The Kreuzviertel is characterised by old buildings, the majority of which come from the turn of the 20th century (1884 to 1908). Over 80% of all housing in this area was constructed before 1948, with the oldest building the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts still standing being from 1896. In the second World War, relatively few buildings were destroyed in comparison to other areas of the city. Today, Kreuzviertel forms a nearly homogeneous historic building area. Over 100 buildings remain protected as historic monuments, like the Kreuzkirche at Kreuzstraße and the first Concrete Church in Germany St.-Nicolai. Nowadays the Kreuzviertel is a trendy district with pubs, restaurants, cafés, galleries and little shops. The west park is the green lung of the Downtown of Dortmund and in the months between May and October a centre of the student urban life.

Even today many artists choose Kreuzviertel as their residence: Sascha Schmitz, Matthias Nadolny and players of Borussia Dortmund.

Nordstadt

The northern part of Dortmund called Nordstadt, situated in a territory of 14.42 km² is shaped by a colorful variety of cultures. As the largest homogeneous old building area in Ruhr the Nordstadt is a melting pot of different people of different countries and habits just a few steps from the city center. The Nordstadt is an industrial urban area that was mainly developed in the 19th Century to serve the Westfalenhütte steelworks, port and rail freight depot. All of the residents live in a densely populated 300 hectare area (the most densely populated residential area in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with steelworks, port and railway lines acting as physical barriers cutting off the area from the city centre and other residential districts).

The area has been badly affected by the deindustrialisation of these heavy industries, with the target area developing a role as the home for growing numbers of immigrants and socially disadvantaged groups partly because of the availability of cheaper (although poor quality) accommodation.

Nevertheless, two parks – Fredenbaumpark and Hoeschpark – are situated there. There is also much equipment for children to spend their free time. For example, the 35 meters high Big Tipi, which was brought in from the Expo 2000 in Hanover. All of that should attract families to settle in, but low prices of apartments and a variety of renting offers speak for the contrary. This developed into the youngest population of Dortmund is living and created a district with art house cinemas to ethnic stores, from exotic restaurants to student pubs.

The Borsigplatz is probably one of the best known squares in the Nordstadt. Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund was founded nearby, north-east of the main railway station. The streets radiating outward to form a star shape, the sycamore in the middle of the square and the tramline running diagonally across the square give Borsigplatz its very own flair.

Kaiserviertel

The Kaiserstraßen District is located east of the former ramparts of Dortmund and follows the course of the Westenhellweg. In this district numerous magnificent buildings from the 1900s and new buildings from the 1950s are located next to the heritage-protected State Mining Office Dortmund, several Courts, Consulate and the East Cemetery. The district is characterize by the employee of the Amtsgericht, Landgericht (the first and second instances of ordinary jurisdiction) and the Prison.

Today the historical Kaiserbrunnen and the entrance sign for Kaiserstraße are important starting points for a tour to the popular shopping district. The Moltkestreet also known as the Cherry Blossom Avenue, became famous after photographers started posting pictures of blooming trees. Every spring, usually in April, the street in the Kaiserstraßen district is booming with pink blossoms and attracts tourists.

Hörde on the Lake Phoenix

Hörde is borough in the south of the city of Dortmund. Originally Hörde was a separate town (until 1929) and was founded by the Counts of Mark in opposition to their principal enemy, the town of Dortmund. In 1388, the "Großen Dortmunder Fehde" (great feud of Dortmund) took place, where the city of Dortmund battled against the alliance of surrounding towns. The struggle ended in 1390, with defeat for Hörde and its allies of Herdecke, Witten, Bochum, Castrop, Lünen, Unna und Schwerte. Today Hörde is a part of Dortmund with restored old buildings combined with modern architecture. The Hörder Burg (Hörde castle) was built in the 12th century and is located in the east of the town, close to the Emscher and Lake Phoenix.

Lake Phoenix was one of the largest urban redevelopment projects in Europe. On the area of the former blast furnace and steel plant site of ThyssenKrupp newly formed and developed a new urban resident and recreational area 3 kilometers (2.6 miles) from the city centre of Dortmund. The development of the Phoenix See area cost 170 million Euro. The lake is 1,2 km long directed to east-west and 320 meters wide in north-south direction. The water surface area of 24 acres is larger than the Hamburg Alster. Lake Phoenix is a shallow water lake with a depth of 3 to 4 meters and a capacity of around 600,000 cubic meters. Attractive high priced residential areas were thus created on the southern and northern sides of the Lake. On the western lakeside, the existing district centre of Hörde is enlarged by a city port and a mixed functional urban area.

Companies with agencies and offices on the lakefront include:

The finished sole is primarily fed by groundwater and unpolluted rainwater from the new building sites. The River Emscher flows through an embanked riverbed without direct link to the Lake. Together with the renatured Emscher, the Lake forms a water landscape of 33 hectares, which, as a linking area, is an important element of the Emscher landscape park. The renaturation of the Emscher River is managed by the public water board Emschergenossenschaft. The financial frame is 4.5 billion Euro and the aim is to finish the main work by the year 2020.

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 one of the highest rents for retail and office space in North Rhine-Westphalia.

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 3.5 million visitors and 300 stalls around a gigantic Christmas tree that stands 45 metres tall, it is one of the most visited and popular market in the world.

In close proximity to the Dortmund concert hall lies the Brückstraßenviertel - a quarter 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.

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 which contains specialist stores. Right next to the Kampstraße is the Kleppingstraße, an expensive shopping street with prestigious shops.

Churches

Castles

Industrial buildings

The most industrial building in Dortmund are part of the Industrial Heritage Trail (German: Route der Industriekultur). The trail links tourist attractions related to the industrial heritage in the whole Ruhr area in Germany. It is a part of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

Cultural buildings

Other important buildings

High-rise structures

Dortmund tallest structure is the Florianturm telecommunication tower at 266 m or 873 ft. Other tall buildings are the churches around the city centre. A selection of the tallest office buildings in Dortmund is listed below.

Road transport

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. It crosses the Dutch-German border as a continuation of the Dutch A67 and crosses the Rhine, leads through the Ruhr valley toward Bochum, becoming B 1 (Bundesstraße 1) at the Kreuz Dortmund West and eventually merging into the A 44 near Holzwickede. It has officially been named Ruhrschnellweg (Ruhr Fast Way), but locals usually call it Ruhrschleichweg (Ruhr Crawling Way) or "the Ruhr area's longest parking lot". According to Der Spiegel, it is the most congested motorway in Germany.

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 north-east of Dortmund. In combination with the Autobahn A45 to the west these form the Dortmund Beltway (Dortmunder Autobahnring).

Rail transport

As with most communes in the Ruhr area, local transport is carried out by a local, publicly owned company for transport within the city, the DB Regio subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn for regional transport and Deutsche Bahn itself for long-distance journeys. The local carrier, Dortmunder Stadtwerke (DSW21), is a member of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) association of public transport companies in the Ruhr area, which provides a uniform fare structure in the whole region. Within the VRR region, tickets are valid on lines of all members as well as DB's railway lines (except the high-speed InterCity and Intercity-Express networks) and can be bought at ticket machines and service centres of DSW21, all other members of VRR, and DB.

The central train station (Dortmund Hauptbahnhof) is the third largest long distance traffic junction in Germany. Dortmund has a railway service with Deutsche Bahn InterCity and ICE-trains stopping at Dortmund Hauptbahnhof (Dortmund Main Station). ICE and TGV Thalys high-speed trains link Dortmund with Amsterdam, Brussels (in 2h 30) and Paris (in 3h 50). There are frequent ICE trains to other German cities, including Frankfurt am Main, Berlin and other cities in the Rhein-Ruhr Region.

For public transportation, the city has an extensive Stadtbahn and bus system. The U-Bahn has eight lines (U41 to U49) serving Dortmund and the large suburb of Lünen in the north. The trains that run on the line are in fact lightrails as many lines travel along a track in the middle of the street instead of underground further from the city centre. The minimum service interval is 2.5 minutes, although the usual pattern is that each line runs at 5 to 10 minute intervals. 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.

A number of bus lines complete the Dortmund public transport system. Night buses replace U-Bahn and tram services between 1:30 am and 3:30 am. The central junction for the night bus service is Reinoldikirche in the city centre, where all night bus lines start and end.

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.

Air transport

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 Airport.

Water transport

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

Economy

Dortmund has adapted since the collapse of its century long steel, coal and beer industries. The region has shifted to high technology, robotics, biomedical technology, micro systems technology, engineering, tourism, finance, education and also services. In 2009, Dortmund was classified as a Node city in the Innovation Cities Index published by 2thinknow. Hundreds of SMEs are still based in and around Dortmund (often termed Mittelstand). Dortmund is also home to a number of medium-sized information technology companies, many linked to the local university TU Dortmund at the first technology center in Germany named "Technologiepark Dortmund" opened in the 1980s. With around 280 companies like Boehringer Ingelheim and Verizon Communications and more than 8,500 employees, TechnologiePark Dortmund is one of the most successful technology parks in Europe. The city works closely with research institutes, private universities, and companies to collaborate on the commercialisation of science initiatives. In the last years a service sector and high-tech industry grow up. Some of its most prominent companies of these sector include Wilo, Amprion, RWE-Westnetz, Rhenus Logistics, KHS GmbH, Elmos Semiconductor, Signal Iduna and ABP Induction Systems – all of whom have their headquarters here. Companies with operations in or around Dortmund include Zalando, Daimler AG: EvoBus, RapidMiner, Gap Inc. and ThyssenKrupp

Logistic

Dortmund is one of the most important logistic hubs in Germany, more than 900 companies working in logistics, as well as nationally and internationally recognised scientific institutes. The variety of different activities taking place at the Fraunhofer Institute Material Flow and Logistics (Fraunhofer Society) has, over the past few years, led to a bundling of skills in the areas of logistics and digitalisation in the city. Industry-based initiatives and pilot projects, such as the Hybrid Services in Logistics innovation lab, the efficiency cluster LogistikRuhr, Industrial Data Space, the Dortmund Mittelstand 4.0 Centre of Excellence, and the enterprise labs. The Digital Hub for Logistics of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is based in Dortmund and twinned with Hamburg.

Companies with big logistic hubs for Germany and Europe in Dortmund include:

Fairs

Dortmund is home to Germany's twelve biggest exhibition centre, Halls of Westphalia which lies near the city center next to Dortmund Airport. With around 77.000 visitors each year, Jagd & Hund is by far the largest event held there. Other important fairs open to consumers include "Intermodelbau", the world's biggest consumer fair for model making, and one of the leading fairs for youth culture "YOU". Important fairs restricted to professionals include "D.I.M" (Deutsche Immobilienmesse, German property fair), Creativa (Hobby) and InterTabac (Tabaco).

Consulates

As a profoundly international city, Dortmund hosts diplomatic missions (consulates and consulates-general) of Italy, Greece, Bangladesh, Ghana, South Africa and the Czech Republic.

Courts

Several courts are located in Dortmund, including:

Newspapers

Two important daily newspapers are published in and around Dortmund. The conservative Ruhr Nachrichten, also known as RN, was founded in 1949. The RN has a circulation of over 225,000 copies daily. The other important newspaper, the Westfälische Rundschau, was first published in 1945 and has a daily circulation of over 181,000. The WR is published by Germany's third largest newspaper and magazine publisher Funke Mediengruppe'.'

Magazines

Several magazines also originate from Dortmund. The Rock Rock hard (magazine) is a metal and hard rock magazine, with subsidiaries in various countries worldwide, including France, Spain, Brazil/Portugal, Italy and Greece.Visions is a German music magazine with a circulation of approximately 35,000.

Radio and TV

The Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR, West German Broadcasting Cologne has a big studio in Dortmund, which is responsible for the east Ruhr area. Each day, it produces a 30-minute regional evening news magazine (called Lokalzeit Ruhr), a 5-minute afternoon news programme, and several radio news programmes. A local broadcasting station called Radio 91.2 went "on-the-air" in the early 1990s. Sat.1 have a regional studio in Dortmund

Two big Radio Channels of Westdeutscher Rundfunk are sending from Dortmund.

Other radio broadcasters include Radio NRW and eldoradio*.

Education

Technical University of Dortmund founded in 1968 is located in the southern part of the city. It has about 30,000 students and a wide range of subjects in of physics, electrical engineering, chemistry, spatial planning and economics. The university has its own train station at the campus’s main gate which is only seven minutes away from the city center. The university’s most noticeable landmark is the H-Bahn, a monorail train which connects the north and south campuses.

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

Culture

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 Konzerthaus Dortmund is listed in the ECHO list as one of the 21 most outstanding concert halls in Europe.

The Dortmund U-Tower, which was once a brewery, is now European centre for creative economy and the Museum am Ostwall. The area around the U-Tower called "Union Viertel" is part of the Creative.Quarters Ruhr and are rooted in the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010.

Festivals and Nightlife

Dortmund offers a variety of restaurants, bars and clubs. Clubs concentrate in and around the city centre (Wallring) and in the Kreuzviertel district. After the Molotov in Hamburg and the Berghain in Berlin, the FZW (Freizeitzentrum West) in the Union district is one of the three best clubs in Germany. With 307 events in 2015, including concerts, parties, festivals, readings and football public viewings have strengthened the FZW's reputation as an "it club" in the Ruhr region. Furthermore, Dortmund is one of the main centres of the Electronic dance music and techno subculture. With the Mayday and Syndicate festivals, the Westfalenhalle Arena has become one of the most important techno strongholds in Europe. After negotiations with several German cities, it was announced that the Love Parade would move to the Ruhr Area for five years (2007-2012). After Essen in 2007 the festival took 2008 place on the Bundesstraße 1 under the motto Highway of Love. The event was planned as a "Love Weekend", with parties throughout the region. For the first time the Turkish electronic scene was represented by its own float, called "Turkish Delights". The official estimate is that 1.6 million visitors attended, making it the largest parade to date.

Every year, the Juicy Beats music festival turns the Westfalenpark into a huge festival ground for pop, rap, electro, indie, alternative, reggae and urban beats - most recently with over 50,000 visitors.

Cuisine

Traditional meals in the region are Pfefferpotthast (kind of Goulash with a lot of beef), Heaven and Earth (Himmel und Äd; black pudding with stewed apples mixed with mashed potatoes) and Pumpernickel with Griebenschmalz (German lard with crispy pieces of pork skin)

In summer the people like to eat a Dortmunder Salzkuchen (Bread buns with caraway fruits, salt, meat and onions). Also a special meal in the winter is Reibekuchen (fried potato pancake served with apple sauce).

Sports

Dortmund calls itself Sportstadt (City of Sports). The city is the home of the biggest Handball Association in the world the German Handball Association (German: Deutscher Handballbund) (DHB) and the German professional handball league Handball-Bundesliga (HBL). Furthermore, Dortmund is home of the Olympic centre of Westphalia.

The city is home of many sports clubs, iconic athletes and annually organises several world-renowned sporting events. Some examples are the Ruhrmarathon and the Sparkassen Chess-Meeting.

Football

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.

Handball

Borussia Dortmund also has a women's handball team playing in the first Bundesliga

Table Tennis

Borussia Dortmund also table tennis team playing in the first Bundesliga.

American Football

The Dortmund Giants established on 22 May 1980 are an American football team from Dortmund. The official name of the club is 1. Dortmunder Footballclub Dortmund 1980 "Giants" e.V..The club spent the 1994 season in the 2. Bundesliga before dropping for two seasons to the tier three Regionalliga West. Five more 2. Bundesliga seasons followed from 1997 to 2001, the final one in a combined team with the Bochum Cadets as the Dortmund B1 Giants. After a five-season spell in the Regionalliga the club finished the 2014 season without a win and had to return to the Oberliga once more.

Ice Hockey

Eisadler Dortmund is the city's ice hockey club who play in Eissportzentrum Westfalenhallen a indoor sporting arena at the Strobelallee. They play 2016/17 in the Oberliga, the third level of ice hockey in Germany.

Basketball

The city's Basketball club is SVD 49 Dortmund basketball team play in their respective second national divisions.

Baseball

The city's Baseball club is Dortmund Wanderers play in the first Bundesliga

Other Sports

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

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

Born before 1900

Born 1901-1950

Born after 1950