Hohensyburg

The Hohensyburg park area is situated in direct neighborhood of Hagen in the South of Dortmund. It is framed by the rivers Ruhr and Lenne. The most prominent part of the park is the eponymous Syburg, a castle whose origins range back to 775. Visitors can enjoy these ruins as well as the wide lawns, a number of cafés and restaurants as well as the wonderful view over the rivers and Lake Hengstey (Hengsteysee).

The Syburg was constructed on the premises of a former Saxon castle which was destroyed by the Franks in the time of Charlemagne. In 1287 the Syburg visible today was partially ruined. Today, the outer walls as well as two keeps are still recognizable. In the center of the complex a war memorial was erected in 1930.


Overlooking Lake Hengstey, the Kaiser-Wilhelm Monument can be found. Dedicated to the founding of the German Reich in 1871, it was completed in 1903. During the Third Reich, the Nazis redesigned the monument to adapt it to National Socialist architecture. Slabs featuring swastikas and the date of Hitler’s seizure of power were added during this time as well. These changes were undone later, though other changes remained unaltered.

A crucial aspect for visiting the park area is the actual getting there. Busses usually go once an hour, so you should check your connections carefully in advance to avoid waiting. However, busses will take you directly to the park (get off at Syburg) and even if you miss the bus back home, several beer gardens are close by to help you pass the time.

Why?

The idea of this blog sprang from a seminar at Dortmund University of Technology called “becoming e-literate: language learning in an electronic age” in spring/ summer 2009. The aim of this seminar is to discover ways of using media in language teaching and learning.

As university seminars often seem to lack tangible creative output, students and the instructor decided to come up with a presentable piece of work towards the end of the class. As several students were preparing for their year abroad, it was soon decided to work on an online project aiming at introducing international students to the city and university of Dortmund. Thus, students would on the one hand gain experience with working in a new medium, and on the other hand have valuable material for advertising Dortmund while abroad.

A major focus of the project will be laid on Dortmund being part of the Ruhrgebiet as Europe’s cultural capital in 2010. Which brings us to this blog:

2010 will offer a number of cultural events dealing with theater, art, industrial culture, etc. The aspect I will concentrate on is the festival Transindustriale. This festival wants to go beyond the image of the Ruhrgebiet as an industrial area and underline the significance of parks for its past, present and future. Similar to the Industrial Heritage Trail the final aim of the festival is to create a path of parks not only through Dortmund, but the whole metropolitan area.

In the course of the following weeks, various green places in Dortmund will be presented in this blog. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about and potentially walking through them yourself!