5 Best Sights in Munich, Germany

The site of the infamous camp, now the KZ–Gedenkstätte Dachau, is just outside town. Photographs, contemporary documents, the few cell blocks, and the grim crematorium create a somber and moving picture of the camp, where more than 41,000 of the 200,000-plus prisoners lost their lives. A documentary film in English is shown five times daily. 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.

To get a sense of the town's history, visit the Bezirksmuseum (district museum), which displays historical artifacts, furniture, and traditional costumes from Dachau and its surroundings.

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.

St. Jakob, Dachau's parish church, was built in 1624–25 in late-Renaissance style on the foundations of a 13th-century Gothic structure. Baroque features and a characteristic onion dome were added in 1676–78. On the south wall you can admire a very fine sundial from 1699, which displays the month, the zodiac, and the time.