Museums & exhibition rooms

The Musée-Château d'Annecy carries an important collection found in pile dwellings during the inspections and archaeological surveys from the 19th to the 21st century. In the centre of the exhibition are Lake Annecy, Lake Bourget and Lake Geneva, as well as important discovery sites like Robenhausen on Lake Pfäffikon. The permanent exhibition in two rooms shows the environment in the New Stone Age and Copper Age, as well as everyday objects and the oven of Crêt de Châtillon in Sevrier (Haute-Savoie).

The Maison du Lac displays the whole Lake Aiguebelette in a vibrant and cosy ambience. The show area allows you to dive into a unique and protected sphere where each of the seasons reveal their secrets. In your interactive visit, you will be discovering the uniqueness of our environment and the people that lived in, protected, made history in it and worked on its future.

The Lac et Nature museum is a didactic facility that introduces the visitors to the fragile balance of the lake. The museum was built step by step by FAPLA (Fédération des Associations de Protection du Lac d'Aiguebelette) and offers the best opportunity to convey the natural, biological and cultural heritage of Lake Aiguebelette.

At the Archäologisches Landesmuseum , 3,000 square metres are dedicated to display diverse aspects of Baden-Württemberg's archaeology. In addition to changing special exhibitions, visitors can look forward to a large permanent exhibition, including one on the "World of the pile dwellers" with sensational objects from the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Lake Constance and Lake Federsee. Organic objects made of wood or plant fibres - textiles, building elements, tools - show the excellent state of conservation in the pile dwelling settlements. The reconstruction of the wall of the unique "cult house" of Ludwigshafen with seven life-size stylised female figures is one of the highlights of the exhibition.

The Stone Age village Pestenacker demonstrates vivid history you can discover and participate in. Modelled after a prehistoric settlement discovered in 1934, the Stone Age village is being extended and further professionalised. A byre-dwelling from the New Stone Age, reconstructed in its original size, is waiting for your visit. In the Stone Age garden, it is time for a discovery tour of cereal crops and herbs. The Stone Age bee houses show how our ancestors were harvesting honey 5500 years ago and regularly baked bread in the Stone Age clay oven. In the visitor's pavilion, you can discover tools, weapons, ceramics and fabrics as in the New Stone Age.

The State Archaeological Collection, founded in 1885, is the archaeological museum of the Free State of Bavaria. In addition to many other central objects from 100,000 years of human history, finds from the three World Heritage Sites of Rose Island, Pestenacker and Unfriedshausen are kept and exhibited here.

The Museum, inaugurated in 1990, is named after Giovanni Rambotti, the first mayor of Desenzano in 1860. He was the first to recognize the scientific and archaeological value of the prehistoric finds discovered in the area of Lake Garda. The museum was founded to show the wealth of archaeological evidence in the Desenzano area, focusing on the prehistory of Lake Garda and the pile dwellings of Lavagnone. The exhibition have been completed with materials spanning from the Roman age to the Renaissance and up to the domination of the Republic of Venice.

The Museum, housed in an ancient building (13th-15th century), offers the visitor a picture of the history of the Sabbia Valley and the western Garda area from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Renaissance period, with a focus on the important Bronze Age pile-dwelling site of Lucone di Polpenazze. Thanks to the particular environmental conditions, many finds in organic material come from the site, such as wooden sickles and linen fabrics.

The Platina Museum, housed in a 16th century convent, shows to the visitor the archaeological artifacts found in an area rich in history. From the Early Neolithic sites of the Vho di PiadenaCulture, to the great sites of the Bronze Age such as the important pile dwellingLagazzi del Vho. There are also rich collections concerning the Celts, the Roman period with the site of Bedriacum and the Early Middle Ages.

Since its opening in 1972, the Museo delle Palafitte del Lago di Ledro has been collecting and displaying finds discovered during the numerous excavation campaigns that have explored the eastern lake shore since 1929. The finds are part of the remains of a Bronze Age pile-dwelling village (2200–1350 BC). Since summer 2019, the museum, which is part of the MUSE network of science museums and coordinates the Ledro Museum Network, has a completely new appearance. Throughout the year, the museum offers workshops and activities for schools. Palafittando® is the summer programme of performances, concerts and workshops on experimental archaeology that offers visitors a summer of encounters between the past and the present. Through its research and the involvement of local actors, the museum becomes a place of cultural, economic and social development and encounters.

A fascinating journey through time, diving into the past, into the atmosphere of the pile-dwelling village of Fiavé to experience the life of our Bronze Age ancestors. Between Lake Garda and the Brenta Dolomites, in Fiavé, in the Valli Giudicarie, where once was the ancient Carera Lake, the Archeo Nature Park rises today, in an environment of great value. A path of discovery and knowledge in the evocative scenery of the nature reserve, a few dozen metres from the archaeological area, included by UNESCO in the World Heritage List, where the remains of the posts that supported the prehistoric buildings are still visible. The Archeo Nature Park and the archaeological area, together with the Pile dwelling Museum in the village of Fiavé, form a true archaeological compound, full of surprises for visitors of all ages. All this is an invitation to adventure and exploration of the past along an engaging route with full-scale reconstruction of the prehistoric buildings, installations illustrating life at the time of the pile dwellings, information panels, a visitor centre with films and multimedia equipment, rest areas as well as spaces dedicated to families and children.

Admission fees (fees include admission to the Museo delle Palafitte): adults € 7; reduced fee € 5; free admission under 14 years old, affiliated with Trentino Guest Card

The museum carries the most important archaeological finds of the Venetians, who lived in this region during the 1st millennium BC. The Roman section shows the transformation of the city of Ateste between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. Smaller but important parts of the exhibition are dedicated to the prehistory of the Euganean Hills – especially the pile-dwelling site of Laghetto della Costa di Arquà – and the post-antique period.

The permanent exhibition with big pictures of life, original finds and replicas you can touch presents the history of pile dwellers in the Seetal valley. The exhibition highlight is a 360-degree film where visitors can explore the pile dwelling site under water with an archaeological diver. About 150 school classes enjoy our programmes on the Old and New Stone Age every year. The slogan “Stone Age Experience” invites you to take up work in a prehistoric workshop with replica tools from the pile-dwelling period, try on Stone Age clothing, cook in the museum garden and much more.

The Museum exhibits an impressive collection amassed by Hans Iseli from Lüscherz. Over the course of 60 years he collected more than 10,000 artefacts made of stone, flint, bone, antler and clay, which document the lives of the pile dwellers that lived around Lake Bienne. The exhibition is housed in the basement of the Municipal Building at Haupstrasse 19 and provides an insight into the lives of early farming communities on Lake Bienne between 4000 and 800 BC.

The permanent exhibition of the Museum Murten shows a rich array of finds from various pile-dwelling sites on Lake Morat. Vessels, tools, implements of all kinds, jewellery and textiles provide insight into the Neolithic and Bronze Age living environments. The artefacts on display were recovered mainly from the settlements in Muntelier, which were among the best-known prehistoric sites in Western Switzerland.

The Musée d’art et d’histoire de la Ville de Genève houses almost 47,000 prehistoric finds. Several thousand came from pile-dwelling sites around the lower basin of Lake Geneva and date from both the Late Stone Age and the Late Bronze Age. A selection of several dozen artefacts from the sites at Plonjon, Eaux-Vives, Pâquis and Anières-Bassy as well as Collonge-Bellerive and Corsier-Port have been on display in the new regional archaeology hall since 2009. The finds are accompanied by 10th century BC piles from Plonjon and a dugout canoe from Morges, which was recently dated to 1326 BC.

The permanent archaeological exhibition features a settlement model of the bog settlement Thayngen-Weier, which was created on the foundation of the excavation results and scientific investigations. A touch screen on various model topics enables references to settlement features, building history and individual discoveries. At the centre of the presentation of the rich material from the settlement are wooden finds: ladles, bowls and cups in all stages of processing up to the finished product, hatchets, threshing rafters, mashers and various other wooden tools. In connection with new discoveries, clay knobs from the settlement of Weier take on a new significance: women's breasts as applications of clay-covered, painted house walls.

The "Kulturmuseum St. Gallen" has stood in the city park of St. Gallen for over 100 years. As a platform for history, ethnology and archaeology, it radiates far beyond St. Gallen. The permanent archaeological exhibition "Fascinating Archaeology – Treasures from the soil of St. Gallen" invites visitors on a journey through time to over 50,000 years ago. Displayed objects range from the Palaeolithic Age to the rich medieval heritage of the canton and city of St. Gallen. The UNESCO World Heritage sites in Lake Zurich are given an important place.

The museum, which is well worth a visit, exhibits archaeological finds and modern everyday objects from Eschenz. The archaeological tour from Eschenz to Stein am Rhein starts at the museum and leads to pile-dwelling sites from the Neolithic and Bronze Age on Werd Island. Several panels also provide information about the Roman settlement and the late antique fort of Tasgentium. The sites are situated in a fantastic landscape by the lake.

The medieval Arbon Castle is home to the largest museum of local and regional history in the Thurgau region. The permanent exhibition invites visitors on an exciting journey through 5500 years of settlement history on Lake Constance. The many original discoveries, documents, models and photos are in some cases supplemented with comparable objects of our time. Climbing the tower is rewarded with a breath-taking panoramic view.

The Museum of Archaeology presents the most important archaeological discoveries from Canton Thurgau, including numerous outstandingly preserved objects from pile-dwelling sites, everyday objects from the Celts and Romans, and finds dating back to the Napoleonic War of 1799. The highlights include the Neolithic golden cup, the Roman wooden statue and the oldest completely preserved instrument in Switzerland: a 2000-year-old pan flute.

The prehistoric hall presents an array of finds from the pile-dwellings in north Canton Vaud, covering the entire period from the Late Stone Age (4000 BC) to the end of the Bronze Age (850 BC). The paintings by the Yverdon artist P. Savary of some of the finds being used in everyday situations provide a vivid impression of what life would have been like at the time. Particularly worth mentioning with regard to the Bronze Age finds is a dugout canoe – at 12 m one of the longest in Switzerland – which was found in Corcelettes (VD) in 1880.

The Zug Museum für Urgeschichte(n) presents the history of the pile dwellers in a lively and informative manner. Here, you will see an exhibition that allows you to experience first-hand what people’s everyday lives were like 3000 to 6000 years ago. What did they eat? What craft-working skills and abilities did they have? What kind of clothes and jewellery did they wear? With whom did they trade goods? All these questions are answered by the finds on display.

The archaeological collection comprises more than 100,000 objects from all Swiss regions. Important ensembles are the pile-dwelling finds from the Seeland Region of Victor Gross's Collection and those from Lake Zurich by Ferdinand Keller. An aesthetic presentation shows the fascinating world of pile-dwelling finds. On display are, for example, a Neolithic door, one of the oldest wheels in Europe and numerous objects made of leather or wood.

Pile-dwelling research began in 1854 with the finds in Meilen. In its permanent exhibition, the Meilen Local Museum shows archaeological discoveries from various lakeside settlements in the municipality. The exhibition covers topics such as construction, nutrition, everyday objects, movement, agriculture, vegetation and wildlife.

The museum documents housing and trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, home working and industrialisation, but also houses a rich prehistoric collection, including pile-dwelling finds from the northern shore of Lake Pfäffikon.