Dortmund
City, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), western Germany, with extensive port installations at the southern terminus of the Dortmund-Ems Canal. First mentioned as Throtmanni in 885, it became a free imperial city in 1220 and later joined the Hanseatic League. Its far-ranging trade connections made it so prosperous in the 14th century that the English crown was pledged to its merchants as security for loans several times. Its prosperity declined after the Thirty Years' War, and when it lost its imperial rights in 1803 its population numbered only about 4,000. The development of coal mining and iron-ore mining in the 19th century and the completion of the canal (1899) stimulated rapid growth, and Dortmund is now a major transportation and industrial centre of the Ruhr.
Dortmund was largely destroyed in World War II, which led to planned reconstruction on modern lines. Four medieval churches—Propsteikirche, Reinoldikirche, Marienkirche, and the Petrikirche—have been restored, and the city retains four moated castles and the ruins of Saxon and Carolingian fortresses. Notable examples of modern architecture are the synagogue (1956) and the Westfalenhalle (Westphalia Hall; 1952), one of Europe's largest halls, which is used for conventions, exhibitions, and sporting events. Dortmund has many educational institutions, including the Max Planck Institute for Industrial Physiology and for the Physiology of Nutrition; the Institute for Spectrochemistry and Spectroanalysis; Münster University's Social Research Institute; and schools for social studies, journalistic research, mountaineering, mining, teachers' training, and adult education as well as several museums. The Museum of Art and Culture houses the “Dortmund treasure,? a cache of more than 400 gold coins. The University of Dortmund was founded in 1966.
Steel, coal, and beer are the city's principal products. Dortmund also has a large wholesale fruit and vegetable market, and its bridge-building firms operate worldwide. Pop. (1992 est.) 601,007.
Copyright © 1994-2002 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Sources
- Encylopedia Britannica 2002, Expanded Edition DVD
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