Pfahlbauten

Top choice in Lake Constance


Awarded Unesco World Heritage status in 2011, the Pfahlbauten represent one of 11 prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps. Based on the findings of local excavations, the carefully reconstructed dwellings catapult you back to the Stone and Bronze Ages, from 4000 to 850 BC. A spin of the lakefront complex takes in stilt dwellings that give an insight into the lives of farmers, fishers and craftspeople. Kids love the hands-on activities from axe-making to fire-starting using flints.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Lake Constance attractions

1. Basilika Birnau

1.5 MILES

This exuberant, powder-pink Cistercian abbey church is one of Lake Constance's architectural highlights and a popular pilgrimage destination. It was built…

2. Insel Mainau

2.04 MILES

This pleasantly green islet has 45 hectares of Mediterranean-style gardens, including rhododendron groves, a butterfly house and a waterfall-strewn…

3. Mainau

2.11 MILES

Jutting out over the lake and bursting with flowers, the lusciously green islet of Mainau is a 45-hectare Mediterranean garden dreamed up by the…

4. Affenberg Salem

2.62 MILES

No zoo-like cages, no circus antics, just happy Barbary macaques free to roam in a near-natural habitat: that's the concept behind conservation-oriented…

5. Burg Meersburg

2.94 MILES

Looking across Lake Constance from its lofty perch, Burg Meersburg is an archetypal medieval stronghold, complete with keep, drawbridge, knights’ hall and…

6. Neues Schloss

3 MILES

In 1710 Prince-Bishop Johann Franz Schenk von Stauffenberg, perhaps tired of the dinginess and rising damp, swapped the Altes Schloss for the dusky-pink,…

7. Vineum

3.02 MILES

Housed in the 400-year-old Heilig-Geist-Spital (Hospice of the Holy Spirit), this new museum presents an intriguing interactive romp through the history…

8. Lakefront

3.08 MILES

Stroll the harbour for classic snaps of Lake Constance or to hire a pedalo. On the jetty, you can’t miss – though the pious might prefer to – Peter Lenk’s…