The city hosting England's tantalising Euro semi-final against Netherlands has a chilling dark side which saw it once dubbed "murder city". But just over three miles away, just north of the city's Dortmund Hauptbahnhof, the main train station, sits the Innenstadt-Nord or Nordstadt, an area fans may wish to avoid.
The district's Keuning Park is said to be illuminated by just a smattering of street lamps, and home to drug dealers who unashamedly approach people walking by, German newspaper Bild report. It was once prowled by the Nordstadt Ripper, who is said to have stabbed three people. It prompted one local police officer to describe the area as "murder city" with patrols having to be ramped up in a bid to find the attacker. At the time, they said: "In reality, there is hardly any chance of catching him like that.
It is getting worse and worse. The northern part of the city is a murder city, they say internally Bild reported the level of crime in Nordstadt was such that the brazen dealer continued to operate even as police officers drove on by. A mother said to Bild: "It's really scary, but what can you do? You can't just stay at home. A British YouTuber also filmed himself visiting Dortmund with locals telling him he should "never step foot" in Nordstadt. TikTok star 'yourtruebrit' said that people on Reddit and in the centre of Dortmund told him "not to visit this area".
He said: "Me being me I want to find out more about why [not to visit the area]. The statistics of this part of Germany is that 81 percent of people feel more unsafe at night here than London so that's saying something because London can be very, very dangerous. Dortmund's "red-light street", Linienstrasse, also sits in Nordstadt. It has been home to a number of brothels since the early 20th century.
The m-long street is the only one in central Dortmund where prostitution is legal. Visitors of Linienstrasse are met with a private scree and a sign saying the zone is for over 18s only.
