Westfalenhalle

Westfalenhallen (Halls of Westphalia) are three multi-purpose venues, located in Dortmund, Germany. The original building was opened in 1925, but was destroyed during World War II. New halls were built, the Große Westfalenhalle opened in 1952. The capacity of the arena is 16,500. The Kleine Westfalenhalle served also for balls, exhibitions and concerts, such as the Dortmunder Philharmoniker, until the Opernhaus Dortmund was opened in 1966.

The venue played host to the 1964, 1980 and 2004 World Figure Skating Championships, as well as the 1955, 1983 and 1993 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships tournaments.

In 1981, the venue was one of only four locations worldwide of the legendary The Wall Tour, by Pink Floyd, along with Los Angeles, Uniondale (New York) and London.

In 1983, the venue hosted the Rock Pop Festival, featuring Iron Maiden (headliner band), Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, Def Leppard, Quiet Riot, Judas Priest, Krokus and The Michael Schenker Group - one of the largest heavy metal lineups of all time, featuring these bands at the peak of their careers.

In 1988, Prince broadcast a mesmerizing performance from his Lovesexy World Tour live via satellite across Europe, later releasing it on home video.

Iron Maiden recorded Death on the Road, a live CD/DVD, at the venue on November 24, 2003.

Madonna played one concert in the arena at her Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990.

Public transport

Westfalenhallen is officially a terminus station of the Dortmund Stadtbahn (urban rail) line U45 and U46, part of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR). Practically, it is not a terminus station: The trains of the line U46 continue as U45 to the central station, while the U45 trains usually continue as U46 to Brunnenstraße. In case of football matches of Borussia Dortmund or other events at Signal Iduna Park, the trains serve the terminus station Stadion.

External links

• Westfalenhallen.de (English)

Coordinates: 51°29′47″N 7°27′21″E / 51.49639°N 7.45583°E / 51.49639; 7.45583