Hahndorf is Australia’s oldest German settlement, established in 1839 by Lutheran settlers fleeing religious persecution near what is now the German-Polish border.

Walk along the kilometre-long Main Street and you’ll see distinctive cottages with framed timber ‘fachwerk’ facades, most of them heritage-listed. In the 1970s, local publicans began playing up the German theme (that’s why you can hear Bavarian oompah music!) though many of today’s shops are focussed on local produce, Adelaide Hills wines and artisan crafts. If you like German sausage, you’re in for a treat.

FAST FACTS!

• Originally inhabited by the Peramangk Aboriginal people the area was called ‘Bukartilla’, which translates to ‘deep pool’ or ‘wash place’
• The ‘dorf’ (village) was named to honour Captain Dirk Hahn, the skipper of the migrant ship Zebra 
• From 1912 to 1968, renowned landscape artist Sir Hans Heysen lived and worked at the ‘The Cedars’ – today you can tour the historic home and studio
• The village used to be home to a black witch and a white witch: one was paid to curse people; the other was paid to remove curses 
• The names of the first 52 families to settle in the area are inscribed on the Memorial Gates of the Pioneer Memorial Gardens