Dortmund is an independent city located in the heart of the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the middle part of the state and is considered to be the administrative, commercial and cultural center of the eastern Ruhr Area. Its population of 600,390 makes it the 8th largest city in Germany and the largest city of the Ruhr Area.

Dortmund is home to many cultural and educational institutions, including TU Dortmund University and other educational, cultural and administrative facilities with over 49,000 students, many museums, such as Museum Ostwall, Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, German Football Museum, as well as theatres and music venues like the Konzerthaus or the opera house of Dortmund. Furthermore, it is home to the famous German football club Borussia Dortmund. The city is known as Westphalia's "green metropolis". Nearly half the municipal territory consists of waterways, woodland, agriculture and green spaces with spacious parks such as Westfalenpark and Rombergpark. This stands in a contrast with nearly a hundred years of extensive coal mining and steel milling within the city limits as Dortmund was once Germany’s most important coal, steel and beer centers.