UNESCO World Heritage Site: Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps
The first traces of human settlement activity on Lake Attersee date back to the Neolithic period. The most recent scientific investigation of pile dwelling remains (2000/2001) has dated the oldest finds to around 3770 BC. This means that the history of pile dwellings on Lake Attersee begins much earlier than originally assumed.
First pile dwelling in the Salzkammergut
On 25 August 1870, Ladislaus Gundaker Count Wurmbrand-Stuppach discovered the first pile dwelling in the Salzkammergut near Seewalchen am Attersee, directly at the outlet of the Ager. Over the next ten years, further pile-dwelling settlements (ten in total) were discovered on Lake Attersee, Lake Mondsee and Lake Traunsee. Since this time, the pile-dwelling settlements of Lake Attersee have been systematically researched, and a myriad of artefacts found today give us a very precise picture of how people lived at that time. They lived in huts built on stilts on the lake shore. The romantic idea of pile dwellings on the water is scientifically outdated. Climatic studies have shown that the water level was lower during the pile-dwelling period than it is today, meaning that the buildings were located on the lakeshore and were only temporarily flooded during high tides.
National exhibition 2027
In preparation for the 2027 national exhibition, the Kuratorium Pfahlbau initiated the multi-year research project "Zeitensprung prehistoric lakeside settlements". Gerald Egger, a pile-dwelling enthusiast, and his team have dedicated themselves to conveying the "adventure of pile-dwelling" to young and old, and are inspiring visitors alike.
The Friends of the Archaeology of Lake Attersee and its hinterland association has set itself the goal of communicating exciting scientific archaeological topics and the latest results of scientific research from the region to an interested, wider audience, and you can read all the interesting historical details about the entire topic on Atterwiki.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The pile dwellings are so important in the Alpine region that they were recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2011.
Anchor-free protection zones in Lake Attersee
No-anchoring zone, protected monument zone, Nussdorf am Attersee
No-anchoring zone UNESCO World Heritage Site, Litzlberg-Süd
No-anchoring zone UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Abtsdorf, Attersee
No-anchoring zone protected monument area, Seewalchen
The anchor-free zones are marked in red on the detailed map of Lake Attersee.
People have lived in pile-dwelling settlements on the shore since the Neolithic Age. On the shores of Lake Attersee, the prehistoric village ruins in the lake bed have been surprisingly well preserved. Anchoring in these areas destroys the pile dwellings, which are over 6000 years old.
An anchor of any size digs into the ground and the anchor chain abrades the surface of the lake bed. Destruction caused by anchors is clearly evident in the annual inspections of the sites.
In 2016, the BH Vöcklabruck issued an "Ordinance regarding the prevention of dangers to the pile-dwelling stations in the Attersee anchor ban", which prohibits anchoring and dragging chains in these areas.
