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74-599: Dortmund ( German: [ˈdɔʁtmʊnt] ; Westphalian : Düörpm [ˈdyːœɐ̯pm̩] ; Latin : Tremonia ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia , after Cologne and Düsseldorf , and the ninth-largest city in Germany . With a population of 612,065 inhabitants, it is the largest city (by area and population) of the Ruhr as well as the largest city of Westphalia . It lies on

148-716: 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. 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

222-652: A camp for Sinti and Romani people (see Romani Holocaust ), and a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp for 800 predominantly Polish women. In September 1943, the local Gestapo carried out a mass execution of 17 Polish POWs , who escaped the Oflag VI-B POW camp, but were soon captured. Bombing targets of the Oil Campaign of World War II in Dortmund included Hoesch-Westfalenhütte AG ,

296-568: 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

370-495: A district), with a total population of approximately 2.4   million. The following cities border Dortmund (clockwise starting from west): 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

444-790: A form of German based on the written standard. Westphalian was spoken in Kruppwerke up to the 19th century. Nevertheless, the Westphalian regiolect of Standard High German includes some words that originate from the dying Westphalian dialects, which are otherwise unintelligible for other German speakers from outside Westphalia. Examples include Pölter [ˈpœltɐ] "pyjamas/pajamas", Plörre [ˈplœʁə] "dirty liquid", and Mötke [ˈmœtkə] "mud, dirt". Westphalian authors include: Münsterländisch: East Westphalian: South Westphalian: Rombergpark Botanischer Garten Rombergpark (Rombergpark Botanical Garden), or informally Rombergpark ,

518-672: A regional centre for hi-tech industry. In 2001 a new era began for the district Hörde in Dortmund, 160 years of industrial history ended with the beginning of the Phoenix See. The development of the Phoenix See area was carried out by a subsidiary of the Stadtwerke AG. In 2005 the first cornerstone was laid on the Phoenix area. The work started with full speed to manage the work with over 2.5 million meters of ground motion and 420.000 cubic meters of ferroconcrete. On 1 October 2010,

592-601: 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

666-504: A single target in the whole of World War II. 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 stubborn German defense. The division, assisted by close air support, advanced through the ruins in urban combat and completed its capture on 13 April 1945. Post-war, most of the historic buildings in the city centre were not restored, and large parts of

740-533: 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. 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

814-563: A territory of 14.42 km (5.57 sq mi) 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

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888-492: A varied architectural landscape. The reconstruction of the city centre 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,

962-550: 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 Germany. Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund was founded nearby, north-east of the main railway station. The streets radiating outward to form

1036-614: Is an extensive municipal botanical garden and arboretum in Dortmund , North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. With its total area of 68 hectares the Rombergpark is one of the largest botanical gardens in the world. It is always freely open. The garden was established in 1822 as the Romberg family's English landscape park around their mooted castle Brünninghausen ( Schloss Brünninghausen  [ de ] ). It followed remodeling

1110-400: 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

1184-546: Is closer to the Hanover region , whose speech variety is generally considered to be standard modern German. The Low Saxon dialects in the bordering Twente and Achterhoek regions in the east of the Netherlands are traditionally classified as Westphalian dialects, albeit with some notable traits from Standard Dutch. A 2005 study showed 62% of the population of Twente spoke the language daily, and efforts are made to insert

1258-767: Is extant, held by the Abteilung Westfalen of the Landesarchiv NRW. Weyhe visited the site twice per year to inspect the work, to determine trails and the lake with an island, a bridge and the Bastei which remains. The leading gardener was Jakob Greiß  [ de ] , who later became director of the municipal gardens in Cologne . The building within the park were designed by architect Adolf von Vagedes  [ de ] , who continued Reinking's after his death in 1819, and te Stroet. The property

1332-408: Is located in the south of the city, adjacent to the zoo. In 1926, it was acquired by the city, which transferred its botanical garden from close to the inner city to the larger property. With city planning director Richard Nose, it was enhanced by a small herb garden . The park was badly damaged by bombing in 1944 during World War II, and the castle was destroyed. In 1945, shortly before the end of

1406-539: Is not part of a Landkreis . Since 1975, Dortmund is divided into twelve administrative districts. Each district ( Bezirk ) has its own elected district council (Bezirksvertretung) and its own district mayor (Bezirksbürgermeister). The district councils are advisory only. Dortmund is often called the Herzkammer der SPD (roughly translated as "heartland of the Social democrats"), after the politically dominant party in

1480-507: Is one of the most successful German football clubs. Dortmund was first mentioned in the Werden Abbey , which was built between 880 and 884. The Latin entry reads: In Throtmanni liber homo Arnold viii den nob solvit (German: In Throtmanni zahlt uns der freie Mann Arnold 8 Pfennige , and English: In Throtmanni the free man Arnold pays us 8 pfennigs ). According to this, there are a large number of different names, but they all go back to

1554-696: Is part of Westphalian Lowland and adjoins with the Ardey Hills , in the south of the city, to the Sauerland . The Ruhr forms the reservoir on the Hengsteysee next to the borough of Syburg in the south of Dortmund between the cities of Hagen and Herdecke , North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The Klusenberg , a hill that is part of the Ardey range, is located just north of the Hengsteysee and

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1628-683: Is presumably of Saxon origin, but there is no archeological or documentary proof of this. During the Saxon Wars , it was taken by the Franks under Charlemagne in 772, retaken by the Saxons (possibly under Widukind ) in 774, and taken again and refortified by Charlemagne in 775. Archaeological evidence suggests the Sigiburg site was also occupied in the Neolithic era. The first time Dortmund

1702-629: Is the capital of the Ruhr department. In 1808 Dortmund becomes capital of French satellite Ruhr (department) . At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the entire Grand Duchy of Berg, including Dortmund, was added to the Kingdom of Prussia . 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

1776-855: The Benelux countries, and with the largest canal port in Europe it has a connection to important seaports on the North Sea . Dortmund is home to many cultural and educational institutions. It is the location of the Technical University of Dortmund , Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts , the International School of Management , and other educational, cultural and administrative facilities, with over 49,000 students. It has many museums, such as Museum Ostwall , Museum of Art and Cultural History , and German Football Museum , as well as theatres and music venues like

1850-737: The Emscher and Ruhr rivers ( tributaries of the Rhine ) in the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region , the second biggest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union, and is considered the administrative, commercial, and cultural centre of the eastern Ruhr. Dortmund is the second-largest city in the Low German dialect area, after Hamburg . Founded around 882, Dortmund became an Imperial Free City . Throughout

1924-544: The Hadamar Killing Facility as part of Aktion T4 , where they were murdered. An additional 229 children were murdered in the "Children's Specialist Department", which was transferred from Marburg in 1941. Dortmund was the location of the Stalag VI-D prisoner-of-war camp for Polish, French , Belgian, British, Serbian, Soviet and Italian POWs with some 300 forced labour units in the city alone,

1998-529: The Konzerthaus or the Opera House of Dortmund . Nearly half the municipal territory consists of waterways, woodland, agriculture, and green spaces with spacious parks such as Westfalenpark and Rombergpark . This stands in a stark contrast with nearly a hundred years of extensive coal mining and steel milling in the past, which created a rich Gründerzeit architectural heritage. Borussia Dortmund

2072-667: The Reinoldikirche collapse. With the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss resolution in 1803, Dortmund was added to the Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda , with as a result that it was no longer a free imperial city . William V, Prince of Orange-Nassau did not want stolen areas and therefore let his son Prince Willem Frederik (the later King William I of the Netherlands) take possession of

2146-731: 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. Moreover, local efforts to beautify and invigorate

2220-516: The " Hoesch -Benzin GmbH" synthetic oil plant, and the Zeche Hansa . The bombings destroyed about 66% of Dortmund homes. The devastating bombing raids of 12 March 1945 with 1,108 aircraft (748 Lancasters , 292 Halifaxes , 68 Mosquitos ) destroyed 98% of buildings in the inner city centre, and 4,851 tonnes of bombs were dropped on Dortmund city centre and the south of the city; this was a record for

2294-759: The 13th to 14th centuries, it was the "chief city" of the Rhine, Westphalia, and the Netherlands Circle of the Hanseatic League . During the Thirty Years' War , the city was destroyed and decreased in significance until the onset of industrialization. The city then became one of Germany's most important coal, steel, and beer centres; as a consequence, it was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II . The devastating bombing raids of 12 March 1945 destroyed 98% of buildings in

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2368-737: 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,

2442-689: The Netherlands: Westphalian has many lexical similarities and other proximities to Eastphalian , extending to the East and slightly to the North of the area where Westphalian is spoken. The personal pronouns in Störmede are as follows: German Westphalian is currently spoken mostly by elderly people. The majority of the inhabitants of Westphalia proper speak (regionally coloured) standard German . This accent, however, does not stand out as much as for example Bavarian , because Westphalia

2516-530: The Rhine. 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 (City centre West), Innenstadt-Nord (City centre North), Innenstadt-Ost (City centre East)) and the remaining nine boroughs make up the surrounding area ( Eving , Scharnhorst , Brackel , Aplerbeck , Hörde , Hombruch , Lütgendortmund , Huckarde , Mengede ). Each " Stadtbezirk "

2590-674: The Ruhr . French Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré was responding to Germany's failure to comply with the reparations demands of the Treaty of Versailles . The occupation lasted until August 1925. Under Nazi Germany , the Old Synagogue , which had opened in 1900, was destroyed in 1938. With a capacity of 1,300 seats, it was one of the largest Jewish houses of worship in Germany. Also, the Aplerbeck Hospital in Dortmund transferred mentally and/or physically disabled patients to

2664-634: The city and the principality. This prince held its entry on 30 June 1806, and as such the County of Dortmund then became part of the principality. On 12 July 1806, most of the Nassau principalities were deprived of their sovereign rights by means of the Rhine treaty . In October of the same year, the County of Dortmund was occupied by French troops and was added to the Grand Duchy of Berg on 1 March 1808. It

2738-641: The city had withstood the siege of 1,200 knights under the leadership of the Archbishop of Cologne , it chose as its motto a saying that is still upheld today by traditional societies: So fast as Düörpm ( High German : "as firm as Dortmund"). In the past, the city was called " Dortmond " in Dutch , " Tremonia " in Spanish , and " Trémoigne " in Old French . However, these exonyms have fallen into disuse and

2812-582: The city is now internationally known by its German name of Dortmund . The common abbreviation for the name of the city is "DTM", the IATA code for Dortmund Airport . The Sigiburg was a hillfort in the south of present-day Dortmund, overlooking the River Ruhr near its confluence with the River Lenne . The ruins of the later Hohensyburg castle now stand on the site of the Sigiburg. The hillfort

2886-620: 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 plurality in the city council, except for

2960-415: 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,

3034-428: The first cities in Europe with an official Brewing right in 1293. 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, Edward III , even borrowed money from well-heeled Dortmund merchant families Berswordt and Klepping, offering

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3108-474: The growing immigration of people from Muslim countries beginning in the 1960s, Dortmund has a large Muslim community with more than 30 mosques. In June 2019 Dortmund hosted the 37th Evangelischer Kirchentag – German Evangelical Church Assembly . 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

3182-543: The highest point of Dortmund 254.3 m (834 ft). There is also a pumped-storage plant on this reservoir, named Koepchenwerk. The lowest point can be found in the northern borough of Brechten at 48.9 m (160 ft). The Emscher is a small river and has its wellspring in Holzwickede , east of the city of Dortmund, and flows west through Dortmund. Towns along the Emscher take in Dortmund, Castrop-Rauxel , Herne , Recklinghausen , Gelsenkirchen , Essen , Bottrop , Oberhausen , and Dinslaken , where it flows into

3256-446: The house from 1817 in Classicist style, designed by August Reinking  [ de ] . The owner, Gisbert von Romberg I  [ de ] and his family commissioned a new garden concept around the house, carried out between 1817 and 1824 in English landscape garden style. It was designed, beginning in 1818, by Maximilian Friedrich Weyhe, who was court gardener in Düsseldorf . He had worked with Reinking before. The design

3330-437: 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

3404-424: The inner city area were completely rebuilt in the style of the 1950s. A few historic 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 inner cityscape. Today nearly 30 % of the city consists of buildings from before World War II. Dortmund

3478-447: The inner city centre. The raids, with more than 1,110 aircraft, were the largest for a single target in World War II. Today around 30 % of the city consists of buildings from before World War II. Since the collapse of its century-long steel and coal industries, the region has adapted and shifted to high-technology biomedical technology , micro systems technology , and also services . Other key sectors include retail , leisure and

3552-403: The inner 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. Unlike the Dortmund city centre, much of the inner districts around

3626-453: The landscape of Emsland in modern Lower Saxony). Traditionally, all Dutch Low Saxon dialects are considered Westphalian, with the notable exception of Gronings , which is grouped with the Northern Low Saxon and Friso-Saxon dialects. The rising diphthongisation is still noticeable in the dialects of Rijssen , Enter and Vriezenveen . Among the Westphalian language there are different subgroups of dialects: Westphalian dialects in

3700-540: The language into the local school curriculum. One of the reasons for the diminishing use of Westphalian in Germany is the rigorous enforcement of German-only policies in traditionally Low German -speaking areas during the 18th century. Westphalian, and Low German in general, unlike many of the High German dialects, were too distant from standard German to be considered dialects and were therefore not tolerated and efforts were made to ban them. In an extreme case, Hannover and its hinterland were forced to adopt rather unnaturally

3774-408: The largest Christian denominations were Protestantism (23,7%) and Catholicism (22,6% 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

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3848-416: The largest and most highly anticipated milestone could be celebrated: the launch of the flooding of the Phoenix See. Since 9 May 2011, the fences disappeared and the Phoenix See has been completed. In 2009, Dortmund was classified as a Node city in the Innovation Cities Index published by 2thinknow and is the most sustainable city in Germany . On 3 November 2013, more than 20,000 people were evacuated after

3922-418: The largest trees of some species in North Rhine-Westphalia , a terrace with palm trees , and four greenhouses with a total area of 1000 m for cactus and succulents , ferns , tropical plants , and camellias , jasmine , and lemons . A large lake is home for fish, turtles and water fowl. A smaller lake is surrounded by water cypress. The lakes are fed by "red" creeks rich in iron minerals. A linden alley

3996-489: The neighbourhood have reinforced a budding sense of community and artistic expression. The West park is the green lung of the Kreuzviertel and in the months between May and October a centre of the student urban life. The district has the highest real estate prices in Dortmund. Even today many artists choose Kreuzviertel as their residence: Sascha Schmitz , Christina Hammer , and players of Borussia Dortmund . The northern downtown part of Dortmund called Nordstadt, situated in

4070-402: The old medieval centre escaped damage in the second world war and post war redevelopment. 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

4144-480: The park, which is planted with white roses, alluding to the Weiße Rose resistance to the Nazis. Beginning in 1950, director Gerd Krüssmann rebuilt the park as an arboretum , adding some 4500 species. Four greenhouses were built in 1958, with an integrated cafe. A garden of medicinal plants was added in 1985. Today the garden contains a historic English landscape park with monuments, an arboretum containing thousands of species of woody plants, including some of

4218-410: The period from 1999 to 2004. The current mayor of Dortmund is Thomas Westphal of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who was elected in 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows: The Dortmund city council ( Dortmunder Stadtrat ) governs the city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election

4292-481: 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 601.402 (2017), 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

4366-401: The regal crown as security. In 1388, the Count of Mark joined forces with the 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. In 1400 the seat of the first Vehmic court ( German : Freistuhl ) was in Dortmund, in a square between two linden trees , one of which

4440-409: 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

4514-410: 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

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4588-399: The same phoneme stem. Their respective use in the sources appears arbitrary and random. In the course of time the name changed many times: trut munia 899, Thortmanni, Trutmania, Trotmunni 939, Tremonia 1152. From the 13th century on, the Dortmunde appeared for the first time, but it was not until a few centuries later that it became generally accepted. In the Middle Ages 1389, when

4662-426: The south of Dortmund and independent until 1928, has its own coat of arms. The centre can be subdivided into historically evolved city districts, whose borders are not always strictly defined, such as: Dortmund is situated in the temperate climate zone with oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). Winters are cool; summers are warm. The average annual temperature lies at approximately 9 to 10 °C (48 to 50 °F),

4736-422: The street in the Kaiserstraßen district is booming with pink blossoms and attracts tourists. Westphalian language The Westphalian dialect region includes the north-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia , i.e. the former Prussian province of Westphalia, without Siegerland and Wittgenstein, but including the southern part of former government district Weser-Ems (e.g. the region around Osnabrück and

4810-431: 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

4884-414: 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. Dortmund's population grew rapidly in

4958-429: The visitor economy, creative industries , and logistics . Dortmund was classified as a "Node city" in the Innovation Cities Index, ranked among the twelve innovation cities in European Union , and is the most sustainable and digital city in Germany . With its central station and airport , the third-busiest in North Rhine-Westphalia , Dortmund is an important transport junction for the surrounding Ruhr area as well as

5032-399: The war, officers of the Gestapo murdered almost 300 people in the Rombergpark and the nearby forest Stadtwald Bittermark  [ de ] . The victims were mostly forced labourers and prisoners of war from several European countries, as well as previously imprisoned opponents of the Nazi regime. These events are commemorated today at the Mahnmal Bittermark , and by a memorial plaque at

5106-479: 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. As with much of the Ruhr area, Dortmund has sizable Turkish and South European communities (particularly Spanish), and had one of Germany's most visible Slavic populations. As of 2022,

5180-484: Was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: Dortmund is twinned with: 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

5254-501: Was in the British zone of occupation of Germany, and became part of the new state (Land) of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1946. The LWL-Industriemuseum was founded in 1969. In 1987 the pit Minister Stein closed, marking the end of more than 150 years of coal mining. Dortmund has since adapted, with its century-long steel and coal industries having been replaced by high-technology areas, including biomedical technology , micro systems technology , and services . This has led Dortmund to become

5328-628: Was known as the Femelinde . With the growing influence of Cologne during the 15th century, the seat was moved to Arnsberg in 1437. After Cologne was excluded after the Anglo-Hanseatic War (1470–74), Dortmund was made capital of the Rhine-Westphalian and Netherlands Circle. This favors the founding of one of the oldest schools in Europe in 1543 – Stadtgymnasium Dortmund  [ de ] . In 1661 an earthquake made

5402-823: Was mentioned in official documents was around 882 as Throtmanni – In throtmanni liber homo arnold[us] viii den[arios] nob[is] soluit [solvit]. In 1005 the "Ecclesiastical council" and in 1016 the"Imperial diet" met in Dortmund. 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. In 1267 St. Mary's Church, Dortmund, and three years later in 1270 St. Reinold's Church first mentioned. The combination of crossroad, market place, administrative centre – town hall, made Dortmund an important centre in Westphalia. It became an Imperial Free City and one of

5476-541: Was one of the centres for resistance to the Kapp Putsch – a right-wing military coup launched against the Social Democratic -led government. In the Ruhr uprising , radical workers formed the 50,000-man Ruhr Red Army in hopes of setting up a soviet-style government. They were defeated with considerable loss of life by government and Freikorps units. On 11 January 1923, French and Belgian troops occupied

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