Dortmund

Dortmund, city in west central Germany, in North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen), on the Ems River. Dortmund is in the heart of the Ruhr coalfields and near extensive iron-ore deposits. The city is connected with Emden and the North Sea by the Dortmund-Ems Canal. Leading products are iron and steel, mining machinery, railroad equipment, machine tools, and beer. Four churches in Dortmund are architecturally noteworthy: the cloistered Dominican Church; Saint Mary, in Romanesque style, dating from about 1150; Saint Peter; and Saint Reinoldi, with fine stained-glass windows. The town hall, built in the 13th century and restored in the 19th, contains a valuable antiquarian collection. Dortmund has a large convention hall and a university (1966).

The city was first mentioned about ad885 as Throtmannia, and it became a free city of the Holy Roman Empire. About the middle of the 13th century Dortmund joined the Hanseatic League. The city enjoyed great prosperity in the succeeding centuries, but by the end of the 18th century it had declined in importance. With the rise of industrialization in the mid-19th century, however, Dortmund again prospered. It was badly damaged during World War II (1939-1945). Population (2005 estimate) 588,700.