Freienbach–Hurden Seefeld is one of the 111 serial sites of the

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps are a series of prehistoric pile dwelling (or stilt house) settlements in and around the Alps built from about 5000 to 500 BC on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands. In 2011, 111 sites located various ...

'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland.

Geography

Hurden-Seefeld is located at the ''

Frauenwinkel Frauenwinkel is a Mire landscapes in Switzerland, mire landscape in Switzerland, situated at the ''Seedamm'' area on ''Zürichsee'' lakeshore in the municipality of Freienbach in the Canton of Schwyz. Geography Frauenwinkel is situated on ...

'' area on ''

Zürichsee __NOTOC__ Lake Zurich (Swiss German/Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used to ...

'' lakeshore in

Hurden Hurden is a village in the municipality of Freienbach in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. First mentioned in 1217, the name "de Hurden" was used for the peninsula and for the fish traps made of woven work, called "Hürden" or "Hurden", which ...

, a locality of the municipality of

Freienbach Freienbach is a municipality in Höfe District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. History Freienbach is first mentioned in 972 as ''Friginbach''. Geography Freienbach has an area, , of . Of this area, 40.7% is used for agricultural purpos ...

in the

Canton of Schwyz The canton of Schwyz (german: Kanton Schwyz rm, Chantun Sviz; french: Canton de Schwytz; it, Canton Svitto) is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne to the west and Lake Zürich in the north, centred on ...

in Switzerland. Situated at the ''

Seedamm The Rapperswil Seedamm is the partially artificial causeway and bridge at the most narrow area of Lake Zurich, between Hurden (SZ) and Rapperswil (SG). The Seedamm carries a road and a railway across the lake, with the railway being used by the ...

'', an isthmus between the ''Zürichsee'' and the ''Obersee'' lake area, it was in close vicinity to the prehistoric lake crossings, neighboured by three other Prehistoric pile dwelling settlements:

Freienbach–Hurden Rosshorn Freienbach–Hurden Rosshorn is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland. Geography The site is located on ''Zürichsee'' lakeshore in H ...

Rapperswil-Jona/Hombrechtikon–Feldbach Rapperswil-Jona/Hombrechtikon–Feldbach or commonly Seegubel is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland. Geography '' Seegubel'' is lo ...

and

Rapperswil-Jona–Technikum Rapperswil-Jona–Technikum is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland. Located on a small former island on '' upper Lake Zürich'' in Rap ...

. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around to under the water level of . The settlement comprises , and the buffer zone including the lake area comprises in all.

Description

The early

Corded ware culture The Corded Ware culture comprises a broad archaeological horizon of Europe between ca. 3000 BC – 2350 BC, thus from the late Neolithic, through the Copper Age, and ending in the early Bronze Age. Corded Ware culture encompassed a va ...

in one of several settlement phases provide dates which are of particular scientific interest in terms of the emergence and dissemination in Switzerland. The layers are extraordinarily well preserved and hold valuable reserves of research material. Extending over to metres, the settlement is also of great interest due to its function and internal organization on this important transport route crossing the lake.

Protection

As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', the settlement is also listed in the

Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance #REDIRECT Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance {{R from other capitalisation ...

as a ''Class A'' object of national importance. Hence, the area is provided as a historical site under federal protection, within the meaning of the Swiss Federal Act on the nature and cultural heritage (German: Bundesgesetz über den Natur- und Heimatschutz NHG) of 1 July 1966. Unauthorised researching and purposeful gathering of findings represent a criminal offense according to Art. 24.

Literature

* Peter J. Suter, Helmut Schlichtherle et al.: ''Pfahlbauten – Palafittes – Palafitte''. Palafittes, Biel 2009. . * Beat Eberschweiler: ''Ur- und frühgeschichtliche Verkehrswege über den Zürichsee: Erste Ergebnisse aus den Taucharchäologischen Untersuchungen beim Seedamm''. In: Mitteilungen des Historischen Vereins des Kantons Schwyz, Volume 96, Schwyz 2004.

References

External links