Pile dwellers - UNESCO World Heritage in Thurgau

111 pile-dwelling sites in six countries in the Alpine region are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps". Four of them are located in Thurgau. The pile-dwelling villages have one thing in common: they were all located on the water and are now stored under low-oxygen layers as if in a prehistoric time capsule. Excavations have revealed precise information about life at that time. The following is a two-day excursion into the world of the region's first sedentary farmers.

By bike along Lake Constance

The enjoyable two-day cycle tour to the pile dwellers begins in Kreuzlingen. You cycle along the Rhine route, ideally with a picnic from a Thurgau farm store in your luggage, along the shimmering waters of Lake Constance to the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Eschenz. Information boards and a video for your smartphone provide fascinating insights into the life of the pile dwellers almost 6000 years ago and make the invisible visible.

Prehistoric cream slice in Eschenz

The UNESCO site in Eschenz on the island of Werd is a multi-phase site. This means that the site has been repeatedly inhabited over the millennia and that different villages are layered on top of each other, similar to a crème cut, well sealed. The location at the narrow outlet of Lake Constance has always been used to cross the water - as a prehistoric crossroads, so to speak. Finds of exotic raw materials such as daggers made of Italian flint show that the pile dwellers probably helped travelers cross the river here and collected a "ferry fee" in return.

"The prehistoric crèmeschnitte from Eschenz provides, layer by layer, insights into thousands of years of settlement history." Urs Leuzinger, archaeologist

UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Seebach Valley

After Eschenz, the pile-dwelling tour leads over the Seerücken ridge down into the Seebachtal valley. The next pile-dwelling site is located at the horn of Lake Nussbaum, where you can now find an information board and video for your smartphone. Research into this site has shown that pile dwellers, the very first sedentary farmers in the region, had a major impact on their environment. The settlement of the shore areas and livestock farming, for example, led to the over-fertilization of Lake Nussbaum, which caused an algae plague. Archaeologists were able to investigate all this and more during excavations of the excellently preserved materials from the submerged layers. Food remains such as raspberries or textiles were found and the life of the pile dwellers could be dated to the exact year based on the tree ring analysis of wood finds. The Seebachtal nature reserve is the perfect place for a picnic - preferably in the historic setting of the Helfenberg ruins or the foundations of the Roman Villa Stutheien.

Museum of Archaeology provides insight

Freshly fortified, we continue along Route 33 to Frauenfeld. Here, visitors can visit the Museum of Archaeology of the Canton of Thurgau, where original finds from all UNESCO sites and more are on display. The good preservation of the pile-dwelling settlements under water-saturated sediment also has a disadvantage: you can't see much in the field. All the more so in the museum, which puts the missing pieces of the puzzle together. After a tour of the museum, it's a half-hour train ride back from Frauenfeld to Kreuzlingen. The Kreuzlingen region offers a wide range of dining and accommodation options.

Faithfully recreated: Pile dwellings Unteruhldingen

The crowning glory of the pile-dwelling experience comes on the second day. Take the boat from Kreuzlingen to the German neighbor. In the open-air pile dwelling museum in Unteruhldingen, the life of the pile dwellers can be experienced at first hand. Visitors are guided through the pile-dwelling culture from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age. On display are 23 faithfully reconstructed pile dwellings on the lake, the nature of a lakeside forest as it once existed everywhere and various exhibitions. A special highlight for families is the adventure world of the Stone Age course.

"You immerse yourself in times 6000 years ago and feel that you yourself are just one link in an unimaginably long chain."

Even more pile dwellers: two detours

Two other UNESCO pile-dwelling sites are located in Thurgau. One of the most important worldwide is unromantically located in the Arbon industrial area under a parking lot. The Arbon Historical Museum has a pile-dwelling exhibition with original finds and a replica of the settlement. The last UNESCO pile-dwelling site is buried in Lake Egelsee near Frauenfeld. Information boards in the area near the sites provide information and videos for smartphones about Arbon and Gachnang make the invisible visible.

Kreuzlingen region - Accommodation tips

The starting point for the pile dwellers' journey is Kreuzlingen on Lake Constance. The port city and the surrounding region offer a wide range of accommodation options. In Kreuzlingen, for example, you can stay at the Fischerhaus campsite in a colorful cottage on stilts – almost like the pile dwellers themselves – or at the youth hostel. Those who prefer something more upscale will find the Trompeterschlössle Hotel and Résidence in Tägerwilen or the Wellnesshotel Golf Panorama in Lipperswil.

Accommodation Kreuzlingen region