· 6 min read
Settled in 1839 by Lutheran refugees, Hahndorf is the oldest surviving German settlement in Australia - and its main street still tells the story in timber, beer and baking.
At the end of 1838, the ship Zebra under Captain Dirk Hahn brought 187 Lutheran migrants from Prussia to South Australia, many of them fleeing religious persecution. Early in 1839 they walked into the hills and founded a village, naming it Hahndorf after the captain who had carried them out.
A village that stuck
The settlers laid out a classic German Hufendorf - long, narrow farm strips running back from a central street - and built timber-framed Fachwerk cottages, many of which still stand. They planted orchards and market gardens, established a Lutheran church and brought the baking, brewing and smallgoods traditions that still define the town.
Walking the main street today
Hahndorf's plane-tree-shaded main street remains the heart of it all. German bakeries sell pretzels, rye and apple strudel; beer halls like the Hahndorf Inn pour imported lagers alongside schnitzel and bratwurst; and galleries, providores and the historic Hahndorf Academy fill the heritage shopfronts.
From 1918 to 1935, anti-German sentiment saw the town renamed Ambleside, but the original name - and the culture behind it - endured. Today Hahndorf wears its history proudly, and a slow wander down the street, strudel in hand, is the best way to feel it.
