Dachau Travel Guide
A detailed destination guide for your next Germany vacation
Dachau Overview
Dachau is a town in Upper Bavaria, in the southern part of Germany. It is a major district town - a Große Kreisstadt - of the administrative region of Upper Bavaria, about 20 km north-west of Munich (Munich vacation rentals | Munich travel guide). It is now a popular residential area for people working in Munich with roughly 40,000 inhabitants. The town contains a historic town center with a 18th century castle.
Dachau was founded in the 8th century. It was home to many artists during the late 19th and early 20th century; for instance, Ludwig Thoma was born here.
Transportation
The city is served by Munich S-Bahn (S2) and Deutsche Bahn via Dachau railway station located in the South of the town. The station is also annexed to the central bus terminal. The town is also served by Dachau Stadt Railway Station which serves the local A line with the rural vicinity. There are five bus lines which are operated by Stadtwerke Dachau: 719, 720, 722, 724 and 726. There is no tramway transport.
Dachau has a well developed road infrastructure for regional transportation. The city is connected to Bundesautobahn 8 (via Fürstenfeldbruck) with Munich-Pasing southbound, and westbound terminating in Karlsruhe (Karlsruhe vacation rentals | Karlsruhe travel guide). Dachau is connected to Bundesautobahn 92 via Oberschleißheim connector which is located east of Dachau. Bundesautobahn 99 is connected with Dachau via Karlsfeld which is located south of Dachau. Bundesstraße No. 471 (via Rothschwaige) connects eastbound towns such as the neighboring city Fürstenfeldbruck (Fürstenfeldbruck vacation rentals | Fürstenfeldbruck travel guide) and westbound towns such as Oberschleißheim. Bundesstraße No. 304 starts in the south of the city and connects southbound towns until the German-Austrian border. Additionally, several Staatsstraßen connect Dachau with surrounding towns and villages.
Where to stay in Dachau?
Check out our selection of hand-selected and quality Dachau vacation rentals and holiday apartments.
Sightseeing in Dachau
- Dachau Palace: A medieval castle which became the favorite residence of the Bavarian dukes in the 16th century. It was renovated into an enormous four-wing complex. Only one wing exists today.
- Palace garden: a landscape garden.
- Church of St Jakob (St James), built in the 17th century (Stadtpfarrkirche)
- Old town
- Town hall
- Dachauer Moos: a wetland area.
- Church of St Nicolas, Mitterndorf (1496)
- Dachau Concentration Camp memorial Site: Dachau is best known for its proximity to the relatively well-preserved site of the infamous Dachau concentration camp, the first large-scale concentration camp in Germany, converted from an old gunpowder factory by the Nazi regime in 1933.
[ source: Wikipedia ]
Maps and Driving Directions to Dachau
Dachau Concentration Camp
[ source: Flickr]
Popular Points of Interest in and near Dachau
Dachau Palace
[ source: Dachau Palace ]
Dachau Palace originated as an early medieval castle belonging to the Counts of Dachau. Under Duke Wilhelm IV and his son Duke Albrecht V it was transformed into a massive four-winged complex by the Munich court architects Heinrich Schöttl and Wilhelm Egkl (1546 to 1577). The magnificent wooden Renaissance ceiling, one of the most important in Southern Germany, dates from this time. At the beginning of the 19th century, three-quarters of the complex was demolished, leaving only the hall section facing the garden, which had been redesigned in the previous century in the Baroque style. From the garden's attractive ridge location there is a panoramic view extending to the Alps.
Hours: April-September: 9 am-6 pm, October-March: 10 am-4 pm. Closed Mondays.
Admission: Adults 2 €, Concessions 1 €.
Related Sites
We collected some useful links related to Dachau. If you know a few more sites not listed here, or also know some insider tips or point of interests for this destination? Please share and submit your Germany travel tip. If approved it will be shown on this page!
- Homepage of Dachau: Dachau (official home page)
- Wikipedia: Dachau
- Wikipedia: Dachau
- Official city homepage
- Dachau Palace
- Parish church of St. Jakob
- Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial
- Dachauer Moos
- Interactive map guide
- Pfarrkirche Dachau
- Wikitravel: Dachau
- Dachau Painting Gallery
More about the History of Dachau
There are signs of settlement as far back as the Stone Age. The earliest known reference to Dahauua dates back to 805 AD: on August 15, on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, during Charlemagne's reign, the lady Erchana of the Aribons bequeathed all her landed property in "Dahauua", consisting of 5 Colonenhöfe and some serfs, to the Diocese of Freising (Freising vacation rentals | Freising travel guide) upon her death. The deed on which this is recorded represents the earliest known reference to Dachau. 2005 was the 1200th anniversary of this occasion.
In 1933, the Dachau concentration camp was built east of the city by the German government and was operated until 1945. It became the prototype for all other camps. 190,591 prisoners died or were exterminated.
What makes this Live Like a German Dachau Travel Guide special...
This Dachau travel guide provides you with an overview of Dachau, Dachau pictures, and a local travel guide that suggests many special trips, unique activities, and vacation ideas, that you can't find in a typical Germany travel guide.
Some of this information is compiled from popular and well-known sources (e.g., such as Wikipedia, Wikitravel, and great pictures from Flickr). However, what makes this Germany travel guide special is that most of the travel suggestions and insider tips are provided by local residents, property owners, and our readers, who share and submit their travel tips with us. All submissions are then editorially reviewed to ensure high quality. All this information is logically organized within this destination guide to make it easy for you to find things quickly.
In addition, the Dachau destination guide features restaurant recommendations, restaurant reviews, where to go for grocery shopping, sports activities, getting around, cultural events and highlights, entertainment, and health related information - so you are informed for your travel to Germany, and you can learn about all the cool things you can do during your Germany vacation!
