Dortmund - Marienkirche

Local tradition knows that Dortmund was founded by Charlemagne in the course of the Saxon Wars. The first written mention of "Throtmanni" dates back to 882. In 1152, a court day was held in Dortmund under King Frederick Barbarossa. Craftsmen and merchants settled and so Dortmund developed into a city. A fire in 1232 almost completely destroyed the town. The fire also caused the loss of the town's archives and with them all documents from the time before the fire. Dortmund's privileges, which had been lost in the fire, were renewed by Frederick II in 1236.

In 1293 the city was granted the brewing right and unprecedented development of the beer industry within the city began. In 1389, Dortmund survived the "Great Dortmund Feud" against the Count of the Mark and the Archbishop of Cologne. However, an economic decline was initiated. This process was continued and intensified by the Thirty Years' War and led to the city's decline, with the population falling to 4500 by 1793. Dortmund became an exclave of the Principality of Orange-Nassau. In 1808 Dortmund became part of the Napoleonic Grand Duchy of Berg. After the Prussian victory over Napoleon, Dortmund fell to the Prussian province of Westphalia in 1815. From the mid of 19th century, Dortmund's renewed rise and transformation into an industrial city began due to coal mining and steel processing. Since the opening of the railroad in 1847, Dortmund became a transportation hub in the Ruhr region. Another contribution to development came in 1899 with the opening of the Dortmund-Ems Canal. This infrastructure paved Dortmund's way to becoming a major city. The city grew beyond the narrow confines of the medieval ramparts.

By the outbreak of WWII, the townscape had changed from a farming town to a metropolitan appearance. During WWII, more than 100 air raids destroyed more than 90 percent of the city, including its historic churches. Reconstruction proceeded quickly, and by 1950 the city had 500,000 inhabitants.

Today, with about 590,000 inhabitants, Dortmund is part of the "Ruhr district", a polycentric urban area. With a population of over 5 million, it is the largest urban area in Germany.

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The Marienkirche (foreground) was built on the Hellweg, opposite St. Reinoldi. Historians assume that the visits of the emperors Frederick I Barbarossa and his successor Henry VI to the imperial palace Dortmund led to the construction of the Marienkirche. It was still called "Capella Regis" in the 13th century.
It was erected between 1170 and 1200 in Romanesque style and is the oldest extant church in Dortmund's inner city] Around 1350, a choir in Gothic architecture was built. It served as a model for the Reinoldikirche.

Since the Reformation, it has been a Lutheran parish church. The collapsing tower of St. Reinoldi (earthquake 1661) partially destroyed the Marienkirche. The restoration was initially not possible due to lack of funds. The church was considered a ruined building and was temporarily closed to the public. In 1805, the north tower had to be demolished. In 1828 the church had to be closed due to dilapidation, and in 1832 the south tower also threatened to collapse. The ruins of the church were to be demolished and released as a quarry. It was saved by the commitment of the Prussian King Frederick William IV after a visit to Dortmund in 1833.

The church was almost completely destroyed by bombs in WWII. It was rebuilt, beginning right after the war and completed in 1959

It also serves as a concert venue for sacred music.