Side Trips

Mountains, lakes, spas, and medieval towns lie within an hour of Munich, and the landscape is dotted with castles, villas, and Alpine resorts.

A short drive from Munich delivers visitors to the heart of Starnberg's Five Lakes Region. The Starnberger See and Ammersee are weekend destinations that afford an enormous assortment of sports. The Tegernsee region is also a popular destination. The spa town of Bad Tölz is known for its healing waters and clear mountain air.

The environs of Munich are as rich in culture and history as in natural beauty. However, in the midst of all this serenity, the former concentration camp at Dachau sounds an ominous note. Before Hitler and the Holocaust, it was a little artists' community, but it's now visited mainly as a symbol of the great horror of the Nazi regime.

Dachau Concentration Camp

16km (10 miles) NW of Munich

In 1933, what had once been a quiet little artists' community just 16km (10 miles) from Munich became a tragic symbol of the Nazi era. Shortly after Hitler became chancellor, Himmler and the SS (Nazi special police) set up the first German concentration camp on the grounds of a former ammunitions factory here. The list of prisoners at the camp included enemies of the Third Reich, including everyone from communists and Social Democrats to Jews, homosexuals, Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses, clergymen, political opponents, trade union members, and others.

During its notorious history, between 1933 and 1945, more than 206,000 prisoners from 30 countries were imprisoned at Dachau, perhaps a lot more. Some were forced into slave labor, manufacturing Nazi armaments for the war and helping to build roads, and so on. Others fell victim to SS doctors, who conducted grotesque medical experiments on them. Still others were killed after Dachau became a center for mass murder: Starvation, illness, beatings, and torture killed thousands who were not otherwise hanged, shot by firing squads, or lethally injected. The death toll was then compounded in December 1944 when a typhus epidemic took thousands of lives within and around the camp, and forced marches in and out of the camp claimed thousands of others as well. At least 30,000 people were registered as dead while in Dachau between 1933 and 1945. However, there are many other thousands who were also murdered there, even if they weren't registered as dead.

The SS abandoned the camp on April 28, 1945, and the liberating U.S. Army moved in to take charge the following day. In all, a total of 67,000 living prisoners -- all of them on the verge of death -- were discovered at Dachau and its subsidiary camps.

Getting There

By Train -- The frequent suburban train (S-Bahn S2) to Dachau is a 20-minute ride from Marienplatz or Hauptbahnhof in the heart of Munich (direction: Petershausen). From the station, take bus no. 726 to the camp.

By Car -- The best road for motorists is a country road, B12. Motorists can also take the Stuttgart Autobahn, exiting at the signposted Dachau turnoff.

Before Hitler, a Beloved artists' colony

Unknown to many, Dachau had a glorious history long before it became infamous in the annals of human cruelty. At the end of the 19th century, it was one of the leading artists' colonies of Germany, and landscape painting was virtually developed in the Dachau moorlands. Women were not yet allowed in the Munich Art Academy but they were educated in the town's private art schools.

If you have time to spare, you can explore Dachau's historic core, including its Schloss Dachau, a hilltop Renaissance castle that dominates the town at Schlossplatz (tel. 08131/87923). All that's left of a much larger palace is a wing from 1715. Stand in the east terrace for a panoramic view of Munich in the distance. The highlight is the grand Renaissance hall, with its scenes of figures from ancient mythology. Chamber concerts are staged here. The on-site brewery hosts the town's beer and music festival annually during the first 2 weeks of August. Charging 2€ for admission, the castle is open April to September Tuesday to Sunday 9am to 6pm, October to March Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm.

Many paintings from the artists who settled here in the 1800s are still in town, especially the works on display in Gemäldegalerie, Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse 3 (tel. 08131/567516), open Tuesday to Friday 11am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5pm, charging an admission of 4€.

Touring the Camp 

Upon entering the camp, KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau, Alte-Roemar-Strasse 75 (tel. 08131/66-99-70; www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de), you are faced by three memorial chapels -- Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish -- built in the early 1960s. Immediately behind the Catholic chapel is the "Lagerstrasse," the main camp road lined with poplar trees, once flanked by 32 barracks, each housing 208 prisoners. Two barracks have been rebuilt to give visitors insight into the horrible conditions endured by prisoners.

The museum is housed in the large building that once contained the kitchen, laundry, and shower bathrooms, where the SS often brought prisoners for torture. Photographs and documents show the rise of the Nazi regime and the SS. There are also exhibits depicting the persecution of Jews and other prisoners. Every effort has been made to present the facts. The tour of Dachau is a truly moving experience.

The camp is open Tuesday to Sunday 9am to 5pm; admission is free. The English version of a 22-minute documentary film, The Dachau Concentration Camp, is shown at 11:30am, 2pm, and 3:30pm. All documents are translated in the catalog, which is available at the museum entrance. Visitors are requested to wear appropriate attire (no bare chests for men, no halter tops for women, and shoes are required). Walking shorts and a T-shirt are acceptable.