Ugh, I’m so conflicted when I have to write about such beautiful Bavarian towns like Hebertshausen, yet find themselves close enough to sites in some of Germany’s darkest periods in history. Like, how do you manage to write that in? I guess I’m just gonna have to start with the darker side, then lighten it up a bit.
Why the literary struggle? It’s because Hebertshausen lies right next door to the town of Dachau, making it close enough to see what was once the Dachau Concentration Camp. Opened in 1933, the camp housed all sorts of prisoners — everything from royalty to writers to politicians to scientists. The camp even housed SS soldiers who awaited trial at the end of World War II.
All right, the rest of area in, and around, Hebertshausen is a much lighter place to be. The countryside is quiet and serene, a great place to go fishing or take an educational stroll along the Walderlebnispfad.
Another great place is anywhere along the Dachauer Moos, where you’ll find everything from a swamp to meadows to forests. No wonder so many 19th and 20th century painters were so inspired to recreate the picturesque views.
This is also a great place to visit if you like (or love) old architecture — and there’s no place better to see that than at any one of the town’s many churches. If you like Gothic ones, Hebertshausen has ’em; so come to St. Kastulus in Prittlbach, or the Church of St. Nicholas.
Like Baroque churches? Good, because you’ll find them here, too. Let’s see… you’ll want to see Oberweilbach’s Church of St. Johann Baptist, or the Chapel of St. Sebastian then.
I’ll take medieval churches any day, so I liked the Romanesque/Gothic St. Peter’s Church in Ampermoching, built way back in 1315; and the Church of St. George — another Romanesque/Gothic blended church.
What’s a medieval church without a medieval castle? Lucky for me, Schloss Deutenhofen is exactly one of those — a proper castle built in the mid-14th century. Although burned down during the Thirty Years’ War, it was rebuilt right afterwards and used as a hospital during WWII.
Too bad there’s no visiting Schloss Haimhausen (over in Haimhausen), you’d never guess from its current state that this was once a castle from the Middle Ages. It’s current structure didn’t come along until after the Thirty Years’ War. Today it belongs to the Bavarian International School (BIS). Still, you might want to get a few snapshots of its grand staircase.
The conflict is gone about Hebertshausen. While I know there’s a dark part of history surrounding the area, I have managed to find the light and beauty within this enchanting town, and I think you will too.
