Historical Facts of Dortmund Germany

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The history of Dortmund Germany goes back as far as 880 A.D. When the city was first mentioned in official documents as Throtmanni, it was a small village at that time.

In 1152, the emperor Barbarossa came to the region and rebuilt the town, which had been destroyed in a fire shortly before. Dortmund became the residence of Barbarossa for two years, and grew to become one of the most powerful towns of the empire.

In the 13th century, the town joined the Hanseatic League. It was 1220 when it attained the status of an Imperial Free City, i.e. it was directly subordinated to the emperor. After 1320, the wealthy trading city started to appear in writing as Dorpmunde.

Dortmund, 1647

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It then lost its status as an Imperial Free City in 1803. It was incorporated into Prussia after the Napoleonic Wars and became a major center for coal, steel, and beer.

During World War 2, the city, along with neighboring cities, was a target of allied bombing raids. About two-thirds of all houses were destroyed. In inner city, even 98% laid in rubble.

According to contemporary reports, it was first considered to not reconstructing the inner city again. However, the reconstruction preceded so fast that in 1950, Dortmund Germany possessed 500,000 inhabitants.

Now, before you create your own history of Dortmund, let's go to the Dortmund Petrikirche first...

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