Hahndorf

Hahndorf was settled in 1839 by Lutherans from Prussia who had fled religious persecution, arriving on the ship Zebra whose captain, Hahn, gave the village its name. It is the oldest surviving German settlement in Australia, and the main street keeps its Fachwerk cottages, the old smithy and elm and plane trees planted by the settlers. During the First World War it was renamed Ambleside in a wave of anti-German feeling and only recovered its name in 1935. The street now runs to German-style pubs, bakeries selling pretzels and streuselkuchen, leather and craft shops, and the Hahndorf Academy showing work by Hans Heysen, who painted the surrounding hills.

What you actually see

• The Fachwerk cottages - surviving half-timbered settler buildings on the main street.
• The German food - bakeries, smallgoods and beer halls along the street.
• The Hahndorf Academy - Heysen's landscapes and settler history.
• The Hills setting - orchards and pasture around the village.

When to go

March to May and September to November for mild weather and colour; the Christmas and Easter periods fill the street. Winter is cold and wet but atmospheric. Weekends are extremely busy with Adelaide day trippers.

Honest expectations

The village is small, essentially one street, and thoroughly commercialised, which divides opinion. Weekend parking is very difficult. Much of the German character is presented for visitors rather than lived.

Nearby

Mount Lofty and the Adelaide Hills wineries lie close; Adelaide is half an hour west.