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Dortmund, with a population of 588,250 people in 2021, is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city in Germany. It is the biggest city (by size and population) in the Ruhr, Germany's largest metropolitan region, and the largest city in Westphalia, with 5.1 million residents. It is located in the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region on the Emscher and Ruhr rivers (tributaries of the Rhine) and is regarded the administrative, economic, and cultural hub of the eastern Ruhr. Dortmund, after Hamburg, is the second-largest city in the Low German linguistic region.

Dortmund, founded in 882, became an Imperial Free City. It was the "head city" of the Rhine, Westphalia, and the Netherlands Circle of the Hanseatic League from the 13th to the 14th century. The city was damaged during the Thirty Years' War and declined in importance until the advent of industrialisation. The city went on to become one of the most significant coal, steel, and beer centers in Germany. As a result, Dortmund was one of the most frequently bombarded cities in Germany during WWII. The bombing strikes on March 12, 1945, destroyed 98 percent of the structures in the city center. With almost 1,110 aircraft, these bombing strikes set a World War II record for a single target.

Since the demise of its century-long steel and coal industries, the area has moved to high-technology biomedical technology, micro systems technology, and services. Dortmund was designated as a Node city in the 2thinknow Innovation Cities Index, ranking among the twelve innovation cities in the European Union, and is Germany's most sustainable and digital city.
Dortmund is home to numerous cultural and educational institutions, including the Technical University of Dortmund and Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, International School of Management, and other educational, cultural, and administrative facilities with over 49,000 students, as well as numerous museums, including the Museum Ostwall, Museum of Art and Cultural History, and the German Football Museum. Almost half of the municipal territory is made up of rivers, woodland, farmland, and green spaces, including large parks like Westfalenpark and Rombergpark. This contrasts sharply with over a century of significant coal mining and steel milling in the past. Borussia Dortmund is one of Germany's most successful football clubs.