UNESCO-World Heritage "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps"

The serial of Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps comprises a selection of 111 out of more than 1000 known archaeological pile dwelling sites in six countries around the Alps (Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia). The serial property is composed by the remains of prehistoric pile dwelling settlements dating from 5000 to 500 BC which are merely situated under water, on lake shores, along rivers or in wetland, offering exceptional conservation conditions for organic materials like wood, textiles, plant residue and bones.

Due to this exceptional waterlogged conditions preserved organic matter the sites give an exceptionally detailed image of the living conditions of these prehistoric populations, providing unique knowledge of their social, economic and ecological interactions. The results of over 150 years of research on the pile dwelling sites had a considerable influence on the understanding of the development of the early agrarian societies of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age in general, and the interactions between the regions around the Alps in particular.

 

111 sites, 6 countries, more than 4000 years of human history...

One World Heritage Property - 111 sites

to the list view of all 111 inscribed pile dwelling sites

Tipp of the week

the PalafittesNEWS 2023 are available!
As printversion or here as PDF dowload



Visit our Digital Showcase "10 Years - 100 Stories"!

See what there is to discover - thanks to the cooperation and the generosity of over thirty museums, collections and archives around the Alps, you can catch exciting insights into the colorful world of the pile dwellers through our digital showcase "10 Years - 100 Stories" .

The 3rd volume of the palafittesNEWS is online!

Palafittes/Pfahlbauten/Palafitte/Kolišča/Pile Dwelling NEWS
Since last week, the latest issue of PalafittesNEWS is hot off the press. Here you can learn more about projects for the exploration, protection and mediation of pile dwellings and World Heritage.
The main topic of this issue is the impact of climate change on the World Heritage Site of pile dwellings, in line with the ArchéoClima conference.
We hope you enjoy reading this issue!

The new volume of the palafittesNEWS is online!

Palafittes/Pfahlbauten/Palafitte/Kolišča/Pile Dwelling NEWS
We proudly present the new volume of our transnational magazine PalafittesNEWS. It shows projects regarding the UNESCO-World Heritage "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps". Enjoy the second edition and find out more about research, protection and public relation projects around the wetland sites and World Heritage.

Premiere of the PalafittesNEWS with our first (online) issue!

Palafittes/Pfahlbauten/Palafitte/Kolišča/Pile Dwelling NEWS
We proudly present our new transnational magazine. It shows projects regarding the UNESCO-World Heritage "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps". Enjoy our first edition and find out more about research, protection and public relation projects around the wetland sites and World Heritage.

The Palafitfoodblog is online!

Cook like the pile dwellers! Click here for the blog with delicious recipes and interesting background information!

Pile Dwellings online!

Because of the actual situation you find here a choice of digital insight at the world of the prehistoric pile dwellings.
Thanks to all our colleagues and partner institutions, which has provide us the following links and information!

Pile Dwellings online

find a selection here

Book suggestion

find a selection here

More information about you find here

Discovering Pile Dwellings

Interactive map

Protecting Pile Dwellings

A worthy World Heritage

Exploring Pile Dwellings

a look into the past