Dortmund's centre is compact: almost everything sits inside the ring of streets that follows the line of the medieval city wall. This guide covers seven places in and around that ring: the German Football Museum by the main station, the Brückstraße quarter and its Konzerthaus, the church of St. Reinoldi, the Altes Stadthaus, the Adlerturm on the old wall and, in season, the giant Christmas tree on Hansaplatz. Together they show how a former coal, steel and beer city presents itself today.
German Football Museum
Directly opposite the main station, the Deutsches Fußballmuseum is the national football museum of the German Football Association (DFB). It opened in October 2015 and tells the story of German football from its beginnings to the present, with a strong focus on the national teams: the men's World Cup wins of 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014 and the women's world titles of 2003 and 2007. Choosing Dortmund was no accident: few German cities are as closely tied to the game. The museum is the second stop of our Dortmund scavenger hunt.
- The 1954 section on the 'Miracle of Bern', the first World Cup win, which mattered far beyond sport in post-war Germany.
- The trophies room and the hands-on area, where you can test your own shooting and passing.
Brückstraße quarter
North of the old centre, the streets around Brückstraße form Dortmund's liveliest district for going out. The quarter has long had a mixed reputation, and the opening of the Konzerthaus in 2002 was meant, among other things, to change that. Today it is known for its many small independent shops, especially for streetwear and trainers, its bars, snack places and late-night crowds. The Brückstraße is not a scavenger hunt stop as such, but the Konzerthaus on it is.
- The independent fashion and trainer shops along Brückstraße itself.
- The view along the street to the Konzerthaus, the quarter's landmark since 2002.
Konzerthaus Dortmund
The concert hall on Brückstraße opened on 14 September 2002, when Kent Nagano conducted Beethoven's Ninth Symphony; a week earlier, about 40,000 people had come to the open day. It stands on the site of the Universum cinema, which opened in 1922, and its hall seats about 1,500 people. Its emblem is a winged rhinoceros, which the city sees as a sign of a new era for a region no longer defined by coal, steel and beer. The Konzerthaus is a stop on the scavenger hunt.
- The glass front on Brückstraße, which glows after dark, and the winged rhino logo on the building.
St. Reinoldi
On the way south into the old centre you pass St. Reinoldi, named after Reinoldus, Dortmund's patron saint. The late Romanesque church was built between 1250 and 1270 and later given a late Gothic choir. Its tower, finished in 1454, was about 112 metres high, until an earthquake weakened it and it collapsed in 1661; the replacement got its baroque top in 1701. The church was heavily damaged in the Second World War and rebuilt, and its tower is about 104 metres tall today. In 1562 Dortmund's clergy confirmed their adoption of the Lutheran faith here. St. Reinoldi is a stop on the scavenger hunt.
- The medieval wooden statue of St Reinoldus inside, at the entrance to the choir.
Altes Stadthaus
On Friedensplatz, the Altes Stadthaus (Old City House) was built in 1899 to plans by Friedrich Kullrich, the city's master builder, in Neo-Renaissance style with red sandstone façades. It was badly damaged in the Second World War and rebuilt in a simpler form, but it has kept its role: it still houses offices of the city administration, as it has since it was built. It is one of the stops of the scavenger hunt.
- The eagle on the gable, the emblem of Dortmund.
- Friedensplatz in front of it, with Dortmund's modern City Hall on another side of the square.
Adlerturm
The Adlerturm (Eagle Tower) stands on the line of the medieval city wall, which once enclosed one of the richest Hanseatic towns in Westphalia. The tower was rebuilt on its medieval foundations and opened as a museum in 1992; today it is the Kindermuseum Adlerturm, a children's museum with an interactive exhibition on life in medieval Dortmund, with workshops and family events. It is a stop on the scavenger hunt.
- The tower itself, one of the few places where you can still picture Dortmund's medieval fortifications.
The Dortmund Christmas tree
Every year since 1996, Hansaplatz has been home to what Dortmund presents as one of the tallest Christmas trees in the world. It is not a single tree: about 1,200 Norway spruces from the Sauerland are fixed onto a frame to form a tree about 45 metres high, decorated with thousands of lights and topped by an angel about 4 metres tall. It is the centrepiece of the Christmas market, from late November to late December. It is not a scavenger hunt stop.
- The angel on the top, best seen from a little distance across Hansaplatz.
- The market stalls around the base, with the tree towering over them.
How to see them in one walk
Start at the main station and the German Football Museum, then walk north into the Brückstraße quarter to the Konzerthaus. From there, head south into the old centre past St. Reinoldi and St Mary's church to Hansaplatz, where the Christmas tree stands in season, and on to Friedensplatz and the Altes Stadthaus. Finish at the Adlerturm on the southern edge of the centre, close to the Stadtgarten.
See Dortmund with World City Trail
Our Dortmund scavenger hunt turns the city into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops, from the Dortmund U to the Stadtgarten, and five of the places in this guide are among them: the German Football Museum, the Konzerthaus, St. Reinoldi, the Altes Stadthaus and the Adlerturm.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Dortmund.
Play the Dortmund scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Dortmund →
Play the outdoor escape game in Dortmund →
Facts checked in October 2026.