Hahndorf  South Australia

Signature town of the Adelaide Hills, Hahndorf is 25km out of Adelaide on the South-Eastern Freeway.

Hahndorf was settled by Silesian and Prussian refugees fleeing religious persecution in 1838 and, almost 200 years on, still retains much of its central European heritage.

Stately elms and chestnut trees line the main street and the local bakeries are renowned for their strudels, cheesecakes and Black Forest Cake.

The Hahndorf Academy and Art Gallery shows a permanent exhibition of the works of celebrated painter Sir Hans Heysen who lived and worked in the town for many years. Alongside the gallery is a German Folk Museum, while Hahndorf also offers a model train village, the Settlers Hill Pioneer Village, and a clock museum.

Hahndorf is at the centre of the Adelaide Hills tourist trail and visitors pour into the village at weekends to pack the restaurants and delicatessens and to stroll the State Heritage-listed main street where most of the buildings boast a plaque bearing a full history of the structure.