The town was settled by Lutheran migrants largely from in and around a small village then named Kay in Prussia, many of whom were aboard the Zebra arriving on 28 December 1838.
In 1912 Hans Heysen had earned enough from his art to purchase a property called "The Cedars" near Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills, which remained as his home until his death in 1968 aged 90.
After their arrival at Port Adelaide on the Skjold, on 27 October, the majority of them moved to the established German settlements of Hahndorf and Klemzig.
Captain Dirk Meinhertz Hahn (born Westerland, Sylt) was probably best known as the captain of the ship Zebra that he captained to South Australia where the town of Hahndorf was named after him.
In 1842 Pastor August Kavel in an attempt to consolidate the settlers into one localized community, strongly urged the settlers in the early settlements at Klemzig and Hahndorf to relocate to the newly settled Langmeil.
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On 23 and 24 May 1839, Kavel convened a meeting of the elders of the three Prussian settlements at Klemzig, Hahndorf, and Glen Osmond.
Due to the large German immigration to South Australia (for example, the town of Hahndorf), mettwurst (sometimes spelled metwurst) is very common and is created in the North German style.
Onkaparinga Valley Road is a South Australian secondary road, connecting the towns of Birdwood, Woodside, Balhannah and Hahndorf with Meadows and Willunga on the Fleurieu Peninsula.