Dachau

Dachau
Coat of arms	Location
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Upper Bavaria
District	Dachau
Lord Mayor	Peter Bürgel (CSU)
Basic statistics
Area	34.85 km² (13.5 sq mi)
Elevation	482 m  (1581 ft)
Population	40,570  (31/03/2007)
- Density	1,164 /km² (3,015 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	DAH
Postal code	85221
Area code	08131
Website	www.dachau.de
Location of the town of Dachau within Dachau district
Coordinates: 48°15′37″N 11°26′3″E / 48.26028, 11.43417

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. It is now a popular residential area for people working in Munich with roughly 40,000 inhabitants. The town contains a historic town centre 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.

1 History 1.1 Prehistoric times and Early Middle Ages 1.2 Middle Ages 1.3 16th century 1.4 Second World War 2 Geography 2.1 Geographical location 2.2 Neighbouring municipalities 2.3 Parts of the town 3 Transport 4 Sights 5 Twin towns 6 People 7 References 8 Literature 9 External links

There are signs of settlement as far back as the Stone Age. The earliest known reference to Dahauua^[1] 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 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.

From the 12th century, Dachau was a summer residence for several Bavarian princes. Between 1240 and 1270, Dachau was granted market privileges, first by Duke Otto II, and then by his son, Duke Ludwig II der Strenge.

Between 1546 and 1577, the House of Wittelsbach built Dachau Palace in the Renaissance style. From June 1715 to Autumn 1717, Joseph Effner converted the Palace to a more modern style.

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.

The liberation of Dachau is featured in a documentary by Franklin Springs Family Media called An American Adventure: The Living Legacy of Jimmy Gentry. The scene where Mr. Gentry is taken back to Dachau is a powerful reminder of what took place here during WWII.

Dachau is located just 20 km northwest of Munich. It is situated by the river Amper, with a boundary demarcated by lateral moraines formed during the last ice age and the Amper glacial valley. It is also close to a large marshy area called Dachauer Moos.

Adjacent municipalities are Bergkirchen to the West, Schwabhausen and Hebertshausen to the north and Karlsfeld to the south. To the east, Dachau is bordered by the municipality of Oberschleißheim, which is part of the rural district of Munich.

Dachau consists of three central divisions:

• The old town: Altstadt, Mitterndorf, Udlding, Etzenhausen, Unterer Markt
• Dachau East: Oberaugustenfeld, Unteraugustenfeld, Polln, Obergrashof, parts of Prittlbach
• Dachau South: Himmelreich, Holzgarten, parts of Gröbenried

The areas Pellheim, Pullhausen, Assenhausen, Lohfeld and Viehhausen were incorporated into Dachau in 1972.

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. 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 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.

• Dachau Palace: A medieval castle which became the favourite 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.

• Klagenfurt, Austria
• Comune di Fondi, Italy

Dachau is a member of Euroart, the European Federation of Artists' Colonies^[2].

Famous people who lived, worked or were born in Dachau include

This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of 2006-11-24.

• Hans-Günther Richardi: Dachauer Zeitgeschichtsführer. Stadt Dachau, Dachau 1998 (German)

• Town Web site http://www.dachau.info/cont/index.php?LANG=EN (English)
• Dachau at the Open Directory Project
• An American Adventure Trailer Jimmy Gentry

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dachau

v • d • e Towns and municipalities in Dachau Altomünster | Bergkirchen | Dachau | Erdweg | Haimhausen | Hebertshausen | Hilgertshausen-Tandern | Karlsfeld | Markt Indersdorf | Odelzhausen | Petershausen | Pfaffenhofen an der Glonn | Röhrmoos | Schwabhausen | Sulzemoos | Vierkirchen | Weichs