The first known documentation of Dachau is…

The first known documentation of Dachau is a medieval deed by the Noble Erchana of Dahauua to the Bishop of Freising, both descendants of the lineage of the Aribons.

With this deed dating back to August 15, 805, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, she donates her entire property in Dachau, including five so called Colonenhöfe and some serfs and bondsman, to devolve to the Bishop of the Diocese of Freising after her death

In prehistoric Upper Bavaria, in the southern part of Germany, the Amper River would divert into backwaters in several places, where many fords made it possible to cross the river.

The oldest findings of human presence here date back to the Stone Age.

The most noteworthy findings were discovered near Feldgeding in the adjoining municipality Bergkirchen.

The Celts had arrived in this area around 1000 BCE and settled here: the name “Dachau” originated in the Celtic Dahauua, which roughly translates to “loamy meadow”, also alludes to the loamy soil of the surrounding hills.

Some theories assume the name “Amper” river may derive from the Celtic word for “water”.

Approximately at the turn of the first millennium, the Romans conquered the area and incorporated it into the province of Rhaetia.

A Roman trade road between Salzburg and today’s Augsburg is said to have run through Dachau.

Remains of this old route are found along the Amper marshlands.