Most of the pile heads still protrude up to three metres into the lake bed. They supported the two-hectare Late Bronze Age village. Ninety houses stood on the rectangular site. Built in a three-aisled layout, they stood almost wall to wall, as in a modern terraced housing estate, with their narrow sides facing north, towards the weather. The village was enclosed by a palisade. It existed from 975 to 847 BC. Similar settlements were found on the northern shore of Lake Constance, but also in what is now western Switzerland and eastern France.

The Überlingen collector and historian Xaver Ullersberger discovered the settlement near Unteruhldingen in 1863. The first underwater surveys took place in 1953.

Underwater exploration of the site yielded far better results than observation from land or from a boat. The absence of air and the silt had protected organic material from decay, enabling the recovery of remains of wood, grain and even clothing.

Since 1981, systematic investigations using aerial photography and underwater archaeology have been safeguarding the remains of the Late Bronze Age village site. Since 2011, it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ‘Pile Dwellings around the Alps’ and thus enjoys special protection.

As part of a European project, a section of the site – located just 500 metres from the Pile Dwelling Museum – was reconstructed in 2001. The most significant finds – horse harnesses, cart parts and decorative pins – are on display in the New Museum.

The proximity to the Seefelder Aach on one side and the narrows of Lake Überlingen on the other have made the site an attractive place for settlement since the Stone Age. The island of Mainau, directly opposite, is only 2.3 kilometres away and can be reached by dugout canoe in 30 minutes. The first hunting camps were established here around 8000 BC, and people have lived here permanently since 4300 BC.

Aerial view: Unteruhldingen-Stollenwiesen

2001: Reconstruction of the houses