Heritage & History
The Lutheran story written in stone
The best heritage & history in Light Pass
Bluestone churches, pioneer landmarks and museums tracing the Barossa's German settler heritage.
Few Australian regions wear their history as openly as the Barossa. Settled from the 1840s by German Lutheran immigrants fleeing religious persecution, alongside English pastoralists, the valley grew a distinctive culture of bluestone churches, stone cottages, smallgoods and old-vine vineyards that survives to this day.
That heritage is everywhere. The spires of Lutheran churches like Tabor rise over Tanunda, while grand pastoral homesteads such as Collingrove near Angaston tell the story of the colony's founding families. The hollow Herbig Family Tree at Springton, which sheltered pioneers in the 1850s, is one of the valley's most evocative landmarks.
Many of the cellar doors are themselves working pieces of history, with cellars and vineyards dating back six generations. Follow the heritage trail through the old villages of Bethany and Greenock and you'll find the Barossa's past is very much alive.