Showcase 10
A museum in the lake – The pile dwellings of Unteruhldingen
District administrator Hermann Levinger had the idea: in his mind’s eye he saw an open-air museum with reconstructions that were true to the original and based on the latest research. The execution and expertise lay with the mayor of Unteruhldingen, pile dwelling researcher Georg Sulger. Victor Mezger, president of the Lake Constance History Association, and the engineer Paul Fritz supported the undertaking. Prof. Robert Rudolf Schmidt from the University of Tübingen and his assistant Hans Reinerth provided the construction plans that they had created based on the findings of their excavations in Schussenried. The construction of the first two houses required 250,000 Reichsmarks. The financing was an early example of modern crowdfunding – anyone who wanted to could support the construction of the museum financially by subscribing to share certificates. In 1922 a museum association was founded. 100 eventful years followed, in which many crises were overcome: economic emergencies, political upheavals, war events and natural disasters. By the anniversary in 2022, 15.9 million people had visited the pile dwellings.
1922
Invitation to the inaugural meeting of the Association for Pile Dwelling and Local History in Unteruhldingen on March 12, 1922. 68 founding members. First Chairman: Georg Sulger.
Photo: APM
1922
Construction of the first two pile dwellings by the Pile Dwelling Association according to plans from the Tübingen Prehistory Research Institute.
Photo: APM
1922
Interior of a Stone Age house modeled on the excavations in Schussenried.
Photo: APM
1925
The “Pile Dwelling Lido” as part of the Pile Dwelling Museum with a women’s house and a men’s house and a direct access to the lake.
Photo: APM
1926
Fixed image from the Ufa silent film “Nature and love, creator nature”, filming location Unteruhldingen, premiere in 1927, Berlin.
Photo: Ufa, Ross Publishing House, APM
1931
The Bronze Age village of Buchau (center of the picture) complements the Stone Age houses of Riedschachen (left) and the pile-dwelling lido (right).
Photo: APM
1931
Interior of the Bronze Age village of Buchau, fireplace in the manor house.
Photo: APM
1934
Newly furnished museum room with the original finds from the Georg Sulger private collection and the Sipplingen excavation finds of 1929/30.
Photo: APM
1935
Between 1932 and 1937, competing Nazi leaders tried to take the popular museum into their “care”. Among them Reichsleiter Bormann, Minister Darré, Reichsführer SS Himmler, Minister Frick and Reichsleiter Rosenberg. In January 1938 the museum was one of the last in Germany to be aligned to the Reich Union for German Prehistory (Rosenberg Office).
Photo: S. Lauterwasser, APM
1938
Workshop of the Reich Union for German Prehistory to equip schools and museums with models and replicas in the municipality of Unteruhldingen.
Photo: APM
1938
Souvenir photo from the pile dwellings of Unteruhldingen.
Photo: J. Udry, APM
1938/40
After the museum association was taken over and brought into line, the lido was demolished and a new village was built following the excavations in Sipplingen by the Lake Constance History Association and Hans Reinerth in 1929/30.
Photo: APM
1945
Occupation and inhabitation of the museum by Moroccan soldiers of the French army. Reopening in June 1945 after approval by the French military authorities.
Photo: APM
1949
After the Pile Dwelling Association was re-established, the “New Look” of the Bronze Age found its way into the open-air museum.
Photo: Coll. G. Schneider | APM
1954
On the occasion of the 100 years of pile dwellings anniversary the museum receives a research institute to look after the collection and excavations for prehistory and early history.
Photo: APM
1963
The research institute carries out surveys and site observations at Lake Constance and Federsee, as well as in Switzerland and Austria.
Photo: APM
1976
Easter Saturday: A fire destroys the Bronze Age village. It was reopened after restoration in 1977.
Photo: APM
1980
1980s: The pile dwellings are visited about half by school classes and half by tourists. They are establishing themselves as a popular excursion destination at Lake Constance.
Photo: APM
1992
As part of a new concept for the museum, student projects with practically oriented teaching units are being created. The museum becomes a place of learning for the Stone Age in the Tübingen high school district.
Photo: G. Schöbel, APM
1993
The planting of a Stone and Bronze Age experimental garden on museum grounds supports the communication of environmental history.
Photo: G. Schöbel, APM
1996
A new, contemporary museum building for the historical collections, a diving aquarium and a permanent exhibition are being built. The inauguration is carried out by Federal President Roman Herzog.
Photo: G. Schöbel, APM
1996
In collaboration with “The Show with the Mouse” a replica of a neolithic pile dwelling from Hornstaad excavations is being built using authentic Stone Age tools. The house is later inhabited by the Stone Age man “Uhldi”.
Photo: G. Schöbel, APM
1998
With the help of experimental archeology, a pile dwelling modeled on the findings from Arbon (Switzerland) is being built next to the Hornstaad House.
Photo: G. Schöbel, APM
1999
The greatest flood of the 20th century at Lake Constance, 5.65 m above the water level of Constance, threatens the open-air museum. Houses are flooded. As a result, all floors and walkways will be raised by 20 cm.
Photo: G. Schöbel, APM
2002
Opening of the new Bronze Age building group based on the late Bronze Age settlement of Unteruhldingen-Stollenwiesen.
Photo: F. Müller, APM
2007
After the scientific supervision of the television documentary “Stone Age – The experiment” (2006), the SWR film village was set up for school projects on museum grounds.
Photo: G. Schöbel, APM
2009
In the decade of European projects the new Bronze Age village, the House of Questions and a time path through the town of Uhldingen are being built one after the other in Unteruhldingen. Demonstrations on experimental archeology take place regularly.
Photo: F. Schulz-Friese, APM
2009
Opening of the Stone Age Course for families. The student project “A Day in the Stone Age” is being offered for the first time.
Photo: F. Müller, APM
2011
The prehistoric pile dwellings in the Alpine foothills are declared an UNESCO World Heritage, including the Bronze Age pile field of Unteruhldingen-Stollenwiesen.
Photo: M. Schellinger, APM
2012 The exhibition “The legacy of the pile dwellers” opens
2013
The multimedia show ARCHAEORAMA opens in the museum and enables a virtual walk through the underwater World Heritage.
Photo: G. Schöbel, APM
2014
ARCHAEOLAB, a student project on archaeological methods, is set up in the town hall of the Stone Age settlement.
Photo: G. Schöbel, APM
2020
Under the conditions of the Corona pandemic, all teaching units are relocated to the outside area. The Stone Age Course features open-air exhibitions under the themes of “Nutrition in the Stone Age” and “House by the Lake”.
Photo: G. Schöbel, APM
2021
Opening of the “Green Classroom” inside the Stone Age course.
Photo: G. Schöbel, APM
2024
Opening of an extension for a new exhibition with a visitor center based on the designs of an architectural competition.
Rendering: a+r Architekten, Stuttgart
Interior scenography: Jangled Nerves, Stuttgart