The Hahndorf Academy occupies one of the original buildings from the 1857 German school, a handsome stone structure on the main street that now serves as the town's arts and heritage hub. It houses four exhibition galleries, a migration museum that tells the story of the original Lutheran settlers and the difficult years of the two World Wars, when German-speaking Australians faced internment and discrimination, and a working artist studio space.
The migration museum section is the most interesting — the history of the German settlers in the Adelaide Hills is more complex and moving than the tourist version of the town suggests. Entry is free to the main galleries. The complex also has a retail gallery selling work by local artists.