Dorsten

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Coordinates: 51°40′N 6°58′E

Dorsten
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Administrative region	Münster
District	Recklinghausen
Population	79,807 source (2005)
Area	171 km²
Population density	467 /km²
Elevation	27-122 m
Coordinates	51°40′ N 6°58′ E
Postal code	46282-46286
Area code	02362, 02369, 02866
Licence plate code	RE
Mayor	Lambert Lütkenhorst (CDU)
Website	dorsten.de

Dorsten is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located on the northern edge of the Ruhr Area, along the Lippe River and the Wesel-Datteln Canal. The main attractions of the town are the swimming hall "Atlantis", an ice stadium and the "Jewish Museum of Westphalia". The shopping mall in the city centre is very popular. Dorsten is twinned with Crawley in England.

Dorsten has its own airfield. The airfield has a grass strip with 800 metre long runway and one government-sponsored hangar. The airfield is home to a clubhouse, a swimming pool and a gliding club.

In the 1940s, as part of the Soviet Union's ethnic cleansing programme, large numbers of people identified as ethnic Germans forcibly relocated from Rybnik, in Upper Silesia, fetched up in Dorsten. In 1994 Rybnik and Dorsten became twin towns, reflecting both the enduring contacts between the two communities and the less antagonostic relationships achieved between European governments in the wake of the Gorbachev reforms.