Dortmund, 2 hotels

The old Port Authority Building stands as a landmark at the entrance to the port. Its role had been to warn incoming river vessels from far away that they were approaching the port of Dortmund, much like a lighthouse. The building’s design is reminiscent of the low German style, espousing the style of 17th century Dutch building design. These days, the Old Port Authority Building is used by the water police, the Dortmund marine fellowship and the Register Office, with the Kaisersaal serving as a wedding ceremony venue. Plus, there’s an exhibition on navigation and ports.

Syburg Castle was built out of sandstone around the year 1100, and was obliterated some 200 years later by Graf Eberhard I von der Mark. The parts remaining to this day are two castle keeps, passes, the ring wall and the outlying ramparts around the settlement. The Kaiser Monument located next to the Castle Ruins was erected at the end of the 19th century in honour of Wilhelm I, in the style of the time. In the 1930s it was altered in keeping with classicistic Nazi building design. The Syberg is also home to the 20-metre-high Vincke Tower. The Tower was erected as a tribute to the Baron of Vincke, because following the liberation from the French he rendered outstanding services to the rebuilding of the state of Westphalia.

Haus Bodelschwingh, a moated castle, is one of the best-preserved buildings of its kind in the Ruhr area. The medieval moated castle, which is perched on oak stilts from the 13th century, is the largest and most significant moated castle in Dortmund. The palace, with its own park and farmyard, has been in the family for over 700 years, and is not open to the public. The owner Baron zu Knyphausen converted the farm buildings clustered around the inner farmyard into modern dwellings and places of business. You can take a virtual tour of Haus Bodelschwingh online. This way, would-be visitors can view photos of the place and find out about the castle’s history.

The Hansa Cokery gives you a fascinating insight into the history of heavy industry over the past century. The large cokery was an important part of Dortmund’s coal and steel industry. The Hansa Cokery came to a standstill in 1992, but you can still tour it as part of the “Nature and Technology” visitor trail. The trail takes you up the mining tower, with its impressive panoramic views, and to the cokery’s centrepiece, the batteries of furnaces where coal was once “baked” at over 1,000 °C to turn it into coke. The machine hall draws in visitors with a unique collection of five gas compressors. Experience a piece of industrial history that will stay with you for a long time to come.

Phoenix West is a local recreation area on the former Phoenix coal and steel company site in Dortmund. Phoenix Lake marks the central point of the Phoenix site. It’s both a leisure hub and a local recreation area. The harbour is the lake’s lively meeting point, with its piazza, eateries and cultural venues. Walkers, skaters and cyclists can get moving along the waterfront esplanade. The quieter nature reserve areas provide refuges for rest and relaxation. In the Phoenix Hall you can tour the permanent exhibition “The New Dortmund”, which brings Dortmund to life for the senses, as a business centre and a place to live.

Explore one of the finest testaments to the industrial past. The buildings of the Zollern mine, which was very nearly decommissioned, remain impressive to this day, with their onion-shaped towers, Gothic brickwork and machine hall with Art Nouveau portal. These days, the “Labour Palace” forms part of the LWL Industry Museum/Westphalia State Museum of Industry. Here visitors can learn about the social and cultural history of mining in the Ruhr area through the fascinating example of the Zollern mine: The rise and fall of mining between German empiricism and economic boomtime.

Reinold’s Church is the landmark of Dortmund. Due to its height of 112 metres, the church steeple was once held to be the “Wonder of Westphalia”. The church bell, which sustained damage in World War Two, was displayed to inaugurate the newly rebuilt Reinold’s Church in 1956. With a visible hole blown in the metal during the war, it serves as a memorial that warns against any further warmongering. You can visit the belfry on Saturdays from 12:00 to 15:00. Visitors who climb the 207 steps to the top of the tower are rewarded with the wide-angle aerial view of Dortmund.