A few words about Dortmund

Dortmund is a city in Germany, situated in the province of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. It counts about 600 000 citizens, as of June 2005.
The average-sized German river of Ruhr flows south of the city, and the small river Emscher: through the municipal area. The Dortmund-Ems Canal also terminates in the Dortmund Harbour: the largest German canal port, linking Dortmund to the North Sea. The history of Dortmund dates back to 880 AD, when the city was for the first time mentioned in official documents such as "Throtmanni".At that time, it was just a small village. In 1152, the emperor Barbarossa rebuilt the town, which had been destroyed in a fire shortly before. For two years it used to be the residence of Barbarossa - which is a short time, but afterwards it became one of the most powerful towns of the whole empire. In the 13th century Dortmund joined the Hanseatic League. In 1220, it was granted the status of an Imperial Free City, i.e. was directly subordinated to the emperor.
It lost its status as an Imperial Free City in 1803. After the Napoleonic Wars Dortmund was incorporated into Prussia and became a major center for steel, coal and beer production. Located in the heart of the Ruhr region (Ruhrgebiet), along with neighboring cities, it was a target of allied bombing raids during the Second World War. As a result, about two-thirds of Dortmund's buildings were destroyed.
Today the city is a hi-tech-industry centre. It is also one of the greenest cities in Westphalia and because of this is also referred to as Westphalia's "green metropolis". Nearly half the municipal territory is composed of waterways, woodlands, agricultural and green spaces, with spacious parks such as the Westfalenpark and the Rombergpark.
For a long time a centre of extensive coal mining, coking, and steel milling, Dortmund has recently undergone a fundamental transformation having no match in any other German city. The former steel city has become a modern cosmopolitan metropolis that has made a reputation for itself Europe-wide as an innovative high-tech location. Apart from its fascinating industrial history, the largest city in the Ruhr area has to offer visitors also interesting museums and theatres, as well as a varied restaurant scene. Among the main highlights are the Port of Dortmund, the Lanstrop "Egg" and the medieval moated castle Haus Wenge. Also, go to the Dortmund TV Tower (one of the first in Germany) to have a delicious dinner in the revolving restaurant, or to just take delight in the magnificent views over the city. Besides, one should not miss the Dortmund's Christmas Market (Weihnachtsmarkt), one of the biggest in Germany, which is home to the world's largest Christmas Tree.
On the museum scene, of interest to you might be the Museum am Ostwall with its first-class collection of modern art of the 20th and 21st century, the German Occupational Safety and Health Exhibition, which is going to take you to an exciting excursion into the working world of yesterday, today and tomorrow, as well as industrial monuments like the Brewery Museum, the Westphalian Industry Museum Zollern and the former Hansa coking plant.
In addition, Dortmund is the home of the football club Borussia Dortmund (BVB 09), who play in the Signal Iduna Park, formerly known as the Westfalenstadion. With a capacity of 82,932 spectators, it is Germany's largest football stadium. Having already hosted some World Cup matches in 1974, Dortmund is also going to be hosting several matches of the 2006 World Cup, including one semi-final.
Besides, the Dortmund chess tournament, one of the most reputed in the world, is held here annually.