Dortmund

Located in the Ruhr area, North Rhine-Westphalia, Dortmund is the eighth largest city of Germany, with an area of 289 square kilometers and a population of about 580 thousand. In Dortmund, winters are comparatively mild and summers rather cool. The average annual temperature lies at approximately 9 to 10 °C.

In 1220, Dortmund became an Imperial Free City, directly under the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire. Throughout the 13th to 14th centuries, it was the "chief city" of the Netherlands Circle of the Hanseatic League. In the mid-19th century, it had transformed from an agricultural city into an industrialized one, with mining developed, then followed by the fast growth of coal and steel. During World War II，about 65% of the buildings in the city were destroyed. In the 1960s, the industries of coal and steel began to collapse, with the last coal mine closed down in the 1980s. After the nineties, the once industrialized known for coal, steel and beer gradually developed into a center of services and business in the Westphalia region, especially shifting to industries like information technology, micro systems, micro and nanotechnology, biomedical technology, robotics, media and communication technologies, logistics management and insurance in recent years. With strong scientific and technological capabilities, Dortmund is home to the Technical University of Dortmund, Dortmund University of Applied Sciences  and over 30 scientific research institutions.

Dortmund is connected with various parts of Europe by railways and freeways and with the most favorable transportation , the city has turned into the center of the eastern Ruhr Area. It takes only one hour to the important economic centers in Europe from Dortmund Airport. Water transportation is also quite convenient with the canal harbor in Dortmund.

Dortmund holds many sports facilities. The football stadium Westfalenstadion is home field of the successful German football club, Borussia Dortmund, with a maximum capacity of nearly 70 thousand.

Famous historical buildings in Dortmund include Reinoldikirche, Marienkirche and St. Peter church, etc. Dortmund is also known as a “Museum City”, housing over 14 museums of different types. Besides, the city is also home to Opernhaus Dortmund, Theater Dortmund, children theaters and an Orchestra called Dortmunder Philharmoniker.

The authority in Dortmund is the local council, and the current lord mayor is Ullrich Sierau (SPD).

Dortmund established sister-city relationship with Xi’an on July 22, 1992. The other sister cities include  Amiens of France, Leeds of the United Kingdom, Buffalo of the United States, Rostov-on-Don of Russia, Netanya of Israel, Novi Sad of Serbia and Zwickau of Germany.