Dortmund is a city in Germany, located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Population: 594,900 (1999).
The River Ruhr and the River Lenne flow to the south of the city and the Datteln-Hamm Canal[?] to the north. The Dortmund-Ems Canal[?] terminates in the large Dortmund Harbour[?] - almost in the heart of the city centre.
The history of Dortmund goes back as far as 880 AD, 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 Dortmund and rebuilt the town, which had been destroyed in a fire shortly before. For two years Dortmund was the residence of Barbarossa - a short time, but afterwards it grew to become one of the most powerful towns of the empire. In the 13th century Dortmund joined the Hanseatic League. It attained the status of an Imperial Free City, i.e. it was directly subordinated to the emperor.
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