World Cultural Heritage Pile Dwellings

Welcome to World Cultural Heritage Pile Dwellings

Experience past millennia and learn everything you ever wanted to know about the Stone Age. With 23 reconstructed houses, the pile dwellings are one of the largest open-air archaeological museums in Europe. **New pile dwellings showcase world cultural heritage** In **2011**, the "Pile dwellings around the Alps" were declared a **World Heritage Site** by UNESCO. For 102 years, the Pile Dwelling Museum has been making this sunken world heritage site visible again. It is one of the most popular leisure destinations on Lake Constance and one of the largest archaeological open-air museums in Europe. It is kicking off the 2024 season with the annual theme "House by the lake – how pile dwellers build." The centerpiece of the open-air museum is 23 faithfully reconstructed pile dwellings, where museum guides provide information. The houses in Germany's oldest archaeological open-air museum exert a special fascination. There is something new to explore at every corner of the extensive grounds. On the tour, guests can enjoy the open-air museum with its wonderful flair in the idyllic bay on the edge of the nature reserve. The museum villages offer a magnificent view of the entire Lake Überlingen. The museum's two founding houses feature an exhibition on the museum's beginnings. This is followed by villages from the Bronze Age (Unteruhldingen and Wasserburg Buchau) and the Neolithic Age. In the adjacent course, children can discover the world of the Stone Age in a playful way. Special activities take place here during the school holidays. The pile dwelling cinema (open during the holidays and on weekends) shows films on various archaeological topics. **New museum building** In June 2024, the new museum was opened at the open-air museum on Lake Constance. The wooden structure, over 12 meters high and shaped like an upside-down dugout canoe, serves as a **visitor center and exhibition hall**. A dugout canoe suspended in the hall has become a new eye-catcher for museum visitors. The ground floor traces the history of the pile dwellers. It illustrates how divers explore the lake bed and highlights the importance of the World Heritage Site for the pile dwellings. Here, visitors can discover original finds, including 6,000-year-old hats, the ergonomically shaped handle of a bronze sickle, and millennia-old house remains from that time. The "ARCHAEORAMA" storytelling machine makes the invisible world heritage visible. Visitors accompany underwater explorers on their dive without getting wet. Museum guests appear to walk through the underwater world of a pile dwelling settlement. The museum, which has been recognized as a **family-friendly** and **disabled-friendly facility**, is largely barrier-free and accessible to families with strollers or people with disabilities. The museum also has a ground-level **toilet for all** with wide doors, a lever lift for wheelchair users to change diapers, and an emergency system. You can find more information about accessibility in the museum [here.](https://www.pfahlbauten.de/ihre-tour/barrierefreiheit/) **A classroom with a difference** The Lake Dwelling Museum offers exciting tours and projects for school classes. Further information can be found [here.](https://www.pfahlbauten.de/schulen/) Dogs are allowed on the grounds of the Lake Dwelling Museum, provided they are kept on a leash and maintain the necessary distance from other dogs (and people). Dogs are **not** allowed in the exhibition hall of the New Museum or in the ARCHAEORAMA multimedia show.

Source: DZT Knowledge Graph