Side Trip to Dachau

Side Trip to Dachau

Dachau predates Munich, with records going back to the time of Charlemagne. It's a handsome town, too, built on a hilltop with views of Munich and the Alps. A guided tour of the town, including the castle and church, leaves from the Rathaus on Saturday at 10:30, from May through mid-October. Dachau is better known worldwide as the site of the first Nazi concentration camp, which was built just outside it. Dachau preserves the memory of the camp and the horrors perpetrated there with deep contrition while trying, with commendable discretion, to signal that the town has other points of interest.

To get a history of the town, drop in on the Bezirksmuseum, the district museum, which displays historical items, furniture, and traditional costumes from Dachau and its surroundings [. Augsburgerstr. 3. 08131/567-511. EUR 3.50. Tues.-Fri. 11-5, weekends 1-5

The site of the infamous camp, now the KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau, is just outside town. Photographs, contemporary documents, the few remaining cell blocks, and the grim crematorium create a somber and moving picture of the camp, where more than 30,000 of the 200,000-plus prisoners lost their lives. A documentary film in English is shown daily at 11:30 and 3:30. The former camp has become more than just a grisly memorial: it's now a place where people of all nations meet, to reflect upon the past and on the present. Several religious shrines and memorials have been built to honor the dead, who came from Germany and all occupied nations. To reach the memorial by car, leave the center of the town along Schleissheimerstrasse and turn left into Alte Römerstrasse; the site is on the left. By public transport take Bus 724 or 726 from the Dachau S-bahn train station or the town center. Both stop within a two-minute walk from the site (ask the driver to let you out there). If you are driving from Munich, turn right on the first country road (marked b) before entering Dachau and follow the signs.[. Alte Römerstr. 75. 08131/669-970. www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de. Free, guided tour EUR 3. Tues.-Sun. 9-5. Tours May-Oct., Tues.-Fri. at 1:30, weekends at noon and 1:30; Nov.-Apr., Thurs. and weekends at 1:30.

Schloss Dachau, the hilltop castle, dominates the town. What you'll see is the one remaining wing of a palace built by the Munich architect Josef Effner for the Wittelsbach ruler Max Emanuel in 1715. During the Napoleonic Wars the palace served as a field hospital and then was partially destroyed. King Max Joseph lacked the money to rebuild it, so all that's left is a handsome cream-and-white building, with an elegant pillared and lantern-hung café on the ground floor and a former ballroom above. About once a month the grand Renaissance hall, with a richly decorated and carved ceiling, covered with painted panels depicting figures from ancient mythology, is used for chamber concerts. The east terrace affords panoramic views of Munich and, on fine days, the distant Alps. There's also a 250-year-old Schlossbrauerei (castle brewery), which hosts the town's beer and music festival each year in the first two weeks of August.[. Schlosspl. 08131/87923. EUR 1, tour EUR 2. Apr.-Sept., Tues.-Sun. 9-6; Oct.-Mar., Tues.-Sun. 10-4; tour of town and Schloss May-mid-Oct., Sat. at 10:30

St. Jacob, Dachau's parish church, was built in the early 16th century in late-Renaissance style on the foundations of a 14th-century Gothic structure. Baroque features and a characteristic onion dome were added in the late 17th century. On the south wall you can admire a very fine 17th-century sundial. A visit to the church is included in the guided tour of the town.[. Konrad-Adenauer-Str. 7. Daily 7-7

An artists' colony formed here during the 19th century, and the tradition lives on. Picturesque houses line Hermann-Stockmann-Strasse and part of Münchner Strasse, and many of them are still the homes of successful artists. The Gemäldegalerie displays the works of many of the town's 19th-century artists.[. Konrad-Adenauer-Str. 3. 08131/567-516. EUR 3.50. Tues.-Fri. 11-5, weekends 1-5

Where to Eat

Weilachmühle. You have to drive a ways for this absolute gem of a restaurant-cum-beer garden-cum-stage and exhibition room in the little village of Thalhausen. It's in a farmhouse that was restored the way it should be, the old dark wooden door opening onto a generous dining area paneled in simple light pine. The food is faultless, beginning with the benchmark Schweinsbraten. To get to the Weilachmüle, drive 26 km (16 mi) north of Dachau toward Aichach; when you reach the village of Wollomoos, take a right toward Thalhausen. (Thalhausen is 2 km [1 mi from Wollomoos.) [. Am Mühlberg 5, Thalhausen. 08254/1711. No credit cards. Closed Mon.-Thurs.

Gasthof drei Rosen. In a 19th-century building at the foot of Dachau's old town, this little inn caters primarily to locals. Among the inexpensive and filling Bavarian specialties on the menu is Hendl à la Parkvilla, chicken marinated in milk and deep fried. You can order it to go as well.[. Schlossstr. 8. 08131/354-515. No credit cards. Closed Mon. and Tues.

Zieglerbräu. Dachau's leading beer tavern, once a 17th-century brewer's home, is a warren of cozy wood-panel rooms where you'll probably share a table with a party of locals on a boys' night out. The food consists of pork, potato, and sausages prepared in various ways. In summer the tables spill out onto the street for a very Italian feeling. The restaurant runs the neighboring nightclub.[. Konrad-Adenauer-Str. 8. 08131/454-396. No credit cards