Question

Maybe someone could explain which one to use? When and why?

Answer 1

The javadoc of HibernateTemplate says:

NOTE: As of Hibernate 3.0.1, transactional Hibernate access code can
also be coded in plain Hibernate style. Hence, for newly started
projects, consider adopting the standard Hibernate3 style of coding
data access objects instead, based on
SessionFactory.getCurrentSession().

So even Spring tells you not to use Spring’s HibernateTemplate anymore. And there is no HibernateTemplate for Hibernate4. The choice should be obvious.