UNESCO World Heritage

Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps

Unique witnesses of prehistory

The “pile dwellings” are remains of prehistoric settlements in lakes and marshes around the Alps. The serial property includes 111 sites in six countries (CH, DE, FR, IT, SI, AT) and 56 of them are located in Switzerland. The artefacts – organic materials such as wood, textiles, plant remains and bones provide fascinating insights into life around 5,000 to 500 B.C. Many finds are difficult or impossible to access as they are underwater, on the shores of lakes or in marsh areas. This makes their exhibition in museums even more important, such as at the Laténium near Neuchâtel, where you can gain a detailed impression of the lives our ancestors led.

Factsheet
Date of Inscription

2011

Criteria of Inscription

iv, v

Category

Cultural Heritage
Serial and transnational property

Region

Switzerland: AG/BE/FR/GE/LU/NE/NW/SH/SZ/SO/SG/TG/VD/ZG/ZH

Other countries: DE/FR/IT/SI/AT

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Visitor centre
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
Lake dwellings from the bronze to the neolithic age A remarkable concentration of pile-dwelling sites has been identified on the shores of Lakes Bienne, Morat ...
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Events
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
  14. – 15.06.2025
The "International canoe Regatta" will take place on the weekend of 14 and 15 June 2025 at St. Blaise on Neuchâtel Lake (CH). Further information ...
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Destination
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
Programme suggestion to discover the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps" in one day.   10:00 to 12:00 A ...
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Destination
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
Programme suggestion to discover the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps" in one day.   10:00 -11:00 By boat ...
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Destination
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
Programme suggestion to discover the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps" in one day.   10:00 to 12:00 Lake Route If ...
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Good to know
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
...
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Good to know
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
Criterion (iv): The series of prehistoric Pile Dwelling sites are one of the most important archaeological sources for the study of early agrarian societies ...
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Our heritage
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
What is your role in relation to the pile-dwellings? At the Laténium, which is the largest archaeological museum in Switzerland, we naturally have a very ...
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Our heritage
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
What is your role in relation to the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings? The Laténium is a unique interpretation centre. It has collections of thousands of artefacts ...
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Attraction
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
From palm-fringed lakes to grandiose glacier landscapes, from medieval villages to vibrant cities: the Grand Tour of Switzerland gives access to an incredible ...
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Good to know
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
History The late Bronze Age was a flourishing period of pile-dwelling settlements. The settlements grew in size and the villages remained in the same location ...
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Good to know
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
A short film by the Swiss Commission for UNESCO
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Point of interest
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
The pile dwelling settlement in Kehrsiten was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 27 June 2011, together with other pile dwelling settlements in the Alpine ...
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Museum
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
The museum's collections primarily reflect the intense activity of archaeologists in the canton of Vaud since the 19th century. One of the highlights is the ...
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Good to know
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
For several decades now, research in the lacustrine environment has made a decisive contribution to illustrating the past in very concrete terms. Our knowledge of ...
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