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Dortmund
Dortmund.
* In NW Germany: a city in the province of North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen).
* Traditionally famed for its ‘coal, steel and beer’.
* A member of the pan-European Hanseatic trading league from the 13th century.
* Biggest city in the Ruhr area, and the center of its burgeoning IT industry.
* Connected to seven autobahns and with a railway station serving over 150,000 passengers per day.
* Largest canal harbor in Europe.
* Home of the famous Borussia Dortmund founded 1909.
* Soccer-crazy: more than 38,000 Dortmundians actively play for a club.
* Mild summers and temperate winters, averaging a year-round 9-10 degrees Celsius (48-50 degrees Fahrenheit).
* Population: 587, 288 (1 January 2004)
World Cup 2006 Matches in Dortmund
Sat 10 June 2006 Trinidad & Tobago v Sweden
Wed 14 June 2006 Germany v Poland
Mon 19 June 2006 Togo v Switzerland
Thurs 22 June 2006 Japan v Brazil
Tue 27 June 2006 Round of 16
Tue 4 July 2006 Semifinal
Dortmund, first mentioned in about 880AD, found its place on the map in 1152 when the legendary German emperor ‘Barbarossa’ (Frederick I Hohenstaufen) rebuilt what had been a mere village and lived there for two years. It began to flourish in the 13th century after becoming a member of the Hanseatic League. It became an Imperial Free City in 1220, i.e. under the direct rule of the Emperor as opposed to a local duke or prince – a status it maintained until 1803.
Lying at the eastern end of the Ruhr region - famous for its once prodigious deposits of coal, especially the high quality coking coal used in steel manufacture – Dortmund was back on the world stage from the mid 19th century as one of the world’s biggest industrial centers. However in 1980 its traditional industries fell into severe decline. Having in the ‘90s made yet another comeback, it is now equally prominent as a center of computer and internet technology, with well over half the population employed in commerce and service industries serving the whole North Rhine-Westphalia region.
While the 'coal, steel' part of its old reputation may have disappeared, 'beer' is alive and well. In the 1960s its beer output was second in the world only to Milwaukee, USA. While no longer the eight-brewery colossus that it was, its two consolidated and restructured breweries maintain its beer-producing distinction. And in this city of half a million, no less than 1,500 licensed premises sell the legendary 'Dortmunder Bier'.
A far cry from its nineteenth century image, about half of modern Dortmund’s urban area is green, and virtually every street gracefully tree-lined. Besides parks and gardens and a zoo, there are excellent museums and galleries, and a fair share of memorable historical buildings, churches, and monuments.
Due to extremely heavy bombing during WWII, very little remains of pre-war Dortmund other than the layout of its streets, which harks way back to its medieval days. The center of the city is unmistakably marked out by a ring of no less than seven streets all ending with the word ‘wall’ punctuated at roughly the four points of the compass by ‘tor’, or gates.
Getting to Dortmund
Air
Dortmund Airport (DTM): served by Air Berlin, easyJet, Hapag Lloyd, Sunexpress, LGW, Lufthansa, City Air and Czech Airlines, has connections to cities all over Europe.
From Dortmund Airport There is a direct shuttle bus (5 Euros/25 minutes) from the airport to Dortmund Central Station. Alternatively, you can take Bus no. 440 to Dortmund Hörde Stn, and then U-Bahn train U41 to the Dortmund Hauptbahnhof (Dortmund Central Station) It takes about 45 minutes. Or Bus no. 440 to Alperbeck Stn (12 mins) then train U47 to the center of town. It takes about 35 minutes.
Bus #C41 runs between Unna rail station and the airport (6.06am-10.06pm).
Taxis cost around 25 Euros for the 25-minute trip.
Train
The Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), one of Europe's largest, connects to any German city and is serviced by several kinds of high speed train.
Bus/Road
Connections to all parts of Germany via the autobahn.
A climate-neutral World Cup
Click here for the 2006 Fifa World Cup venues
Click here for general information
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