I don't beat about the bush. That's not my style. So I'll get straight to the point and tell it like it is: I'm definitely not the prettiest in the whole country. But I'm an honest person. Down to earth. Hard-working. And crazy about football. All this has to do with my past as an important mining and steel centre. People really worked hard here in Dortmund. Like at the Zollern colliery, for example, whose magnificent buildings are now known as the "Castle of Labour". You can find out how coal was mined here from 1898 until the 1960s during a visit to one of the country's most beautiful industrial monuments.
Of course we are proud of our "dirty" past and preserve it. But we also allow new things to emerge from it. A good example of this structural change is the Phönix-West site. The foundation stone for my steel era was once laid with the construction of the smelting works there. Until the Chinese came sometime in the early 1990s and removed parts of the plant. We then created an artificial lake here, the Phoenix Lake, and created an attractive business and recreational area. Its centrepiece is the old blast furnace, which we have preserved. When you enter the impressive building today, you suddenly become part of a work of art yourself. Because the immersive exhibition "Phoenix des lumières" will transport you into a veritable frenzy of colour. From the skywalk on the old gas pipe, you have a magnificent view far beyond the site. Provided you have a head for heights.
Afterwards, you can definitely treat yourself to a cold beer in the old Bergmann brewery. Because I think I forgot to mention it at the beginning. I am also a hard drinker. My long tradition as a beer city is marked by a large golden U right in the city centre. It forms the top of the building of the former Union Brewery. Unfortunately, beer is no longer brewed in the old tower, but you will find numerous cultural attractions, including the Museum am Ostwall and a cinema, all under one roof.
All that's missing is football! You probably know my legendary "Yellow Wall", which always builds up on the south stand of the stadium when my Borussia team plays in the stadium. But did you also know that Germany's only football museum is in my home in Dortmund? That's right. And it's right next to the main railway station. So you can hardly miss it.
