pfahlbaumuseum

A multilingual guided tour of two of the huts introduced us to the village and we were then left to explore the remaining village. The huts were fitted out to represent various work in a Saxon lakeside village (be carefull not to trip over fireplaces in the gloom). The visit finished (but can start) with an underwater experience followed by 360° film of the village with Saxon reenactment.

A great place to take young children. It feels like a step back in time and the children were more active than they have been in some other museums.

We visited the musem not sure if the kids will endour the tour. The tour starts with a short movie - since we were the only non German speaking visitors we joined the German tour, which was not convenient for my husband, who does not speak german at all. Later on we joined the tour (again only in German). You can wander around the place on your own (it is very interesting without the guide), but the guide has keys to some huts that are not accessible otherwise. One of the highlights of the museum was the "playground" where everyone can dig for remains in sand, try to drill a hole in a stone without modern tools etc...

We arrived just as a German language tour was starting. The ticket seller recommended that we join it because two buildings can only be visited by tour. We were able to understand most of the lecture in the first building since there were a lot of visual aids and we understand German better than we speak it. In the second building, it was much harder to understand since there were few visuals. We left and explored the rest on our own. There are some English explanations, bur they could use more.They request that you not take photos for some incomprehensible reason and that is one of the reasons for my less than excellent rating. While the museum is interesting, there is not enough to warrant a second visit.We arrived by bus #7395 which goes along the north coast of the Bodensee.

Spent 2-hours walking through this wonderful outdoor museum. We didn't speak German, but joined the German tourists with a German tour guide. Some signs had English writing, but we still enjoyed the tour greatly. We took the ferry from Meersburg (buy a combination ferry/museum ticket). We recommend this museum to young and old.

We visited Pfahlbauten today with our children, aged 3-15 and two adults. There was something for everyone and it was an informative and enjoyable couple of hours. We spent longer there than we expected. We enjoyed wandering around the recreated village, and the views over Lake Constance were beautiful. There is a nice kids' playground just outside and several places to eat - we enjoyed some excellent, good-value ice creams.Practicalities first - parking is a nuisance and it's no good following your satnav to the museum, because unless you are disabled, you can't park there. You are advised to use the public car park at Unteruhldingen Ehbachstraße . This is a pay & display park and it is about 5-10 minutes' walk away, on safe, level pavements. There is a little land train which runs regularly as an alternative to walking, but we left at the same time & got there faster on foot!You enter the museum through an audio-visual experience which was great fun - the kids were begging for another go. There is an English soundtrack, so the staff put this on for us - do ask, as they are accommodating. Some of the information boards are in English, but most are currently in German only. I suggest asking at reception where you can find English info before you start exploring as you will be able to get more out of it that way, perhaps. There is a brief info leaflet in English - do ask for this, as we were not offered it automatically.Apparently you can ask for a guide to take you round and give you a tour in English; I am not sure if there is an extra fee for this, but we tagged on the end of a German group and then wandered on our own. Various of the houses are set out as museum rooms with artefacts, and these are kept locked and just opened by the tour guide, so unless you tag along with a tour, you won't get to see everything. You can peep through the windows (the houses are lit inside) but I'm sure the tour would have been interesting. There were none of the special children's activities such as the 'Be an archaeologist' sessions mentioned elsewhere, as these are, I think, only put on in school holidays. Regardless of this, our kids enjoyed wandering round and the younger ones loved the houses which were set up with displays of people and stuffed animals.We left feeling that this museum had been done very well. It is the sort of thing you don't find in Britain, and much more fun than just looking at photos of the original remains which were found. The museum is just about 4 Km away from Meersburg so would combine well with a day exploring the pretty little lakeside town.

This is an utterly wonderful day out, thoroughly recommended to any one with an interest in history. My husband is an archaeologist, and both our children are passionate about history, particularly my son. We LOVED it.The visit stars with an incredible visitor experience to take you back in time. I typed out a full description of this and then deleted it, because I think the surprise of it shouldn't be taken away from you. We actually went through this twice, the second time with the soundtrack kindly changed to English for us by an attentive guide.The lake dwellings themselves are amazing - really detailed, beautifully made. Our children were enthralled throughout - including during the (German) film about the building of a lake dwelling housel. There's also a good museum of finds + a super children's activity area where they can try being an archaeologist for themselves.We all enjoyed this enormously. A really super day out for the whole family.

This museum is one of the highlights of any visit in the region. Very informative, well maintained, and with friendly and knowledgeable staff. Great for kids!

Very interesting sight! The buildings are maintained very well, the brand new Multimedia show is excellent and the exhibition is informative. The guide seems to be very educated and was able to answer all questions. All in all recommendable and worth every visit!

Nice on a cool day. Great view into our life in the past. Nicely presented but not too big. Lots of great information presented.

Archaeologists have uncovered enough artifacts to enable them to reconstruct human life on the site beginning 7000 years ago. The name indicates that the settlement was built in the Late Stone Age on pilings over (or partially so) Lake Constance. Historical interpreters (well informed) bring the replica to life in unbelievable detail. You may tour the village at your own pace, as interpreters stay, while you move. After the village tour there is a place where you can use an ax made in the fashion of the Stone Age, taste the surprisingly good food of the time (not leftovers!) and partake in many more hands-on activities. Then there is the museum itself. I visit the site each time I am in the area. It gets better each time. This time I was accompanied by one of my children and a grandchild. The weather was horrible, but the museum was still interested and excited us all in different ways. I give the Pfahlbau my most enthusiastic recommendation.

Happily people flock to this place, and so they should. It's not very "exciting" in the sense that it isn't especially beautiful, nor is there a shock and awe attraction, but the info provided - in English as well as German - provides a fine background for life around the Bodensee 5000 years before Christ. Reproduced structures are as authentic as they can assume. Tours are all guided, with the ability to wander around on your own after (not sure English tours are available, but I wouldn't doubt it). Allow two hours. Very interesting and a nice two hours.

This re-construction of a village in the stone age is worth a visit. It is both well presented and interesting - and it can be funny too; like when a tourist asked why they don't seem to have any knives.....in this er...stone age village. I think she was American but I am not 101% sure. The guide said something interesting that I will always remember; 'There was peace in this area during the stone age, because no one had anything to steal that others did not have also'.

As soon as there are enough guests for a tour, off you go. The guide shows you through the different buildings and explains implements and how the people lived way back then. Those tours are in German. If you need another language, check the website for times.

This is a great place to learn about how the people in this area lived about 5-6000 years ago, in the Stone Age. Inspite of very limited tools, they were quite ingenious and it's amazing what they were able to accomplish with what little they had.Very educational, very "hands-on" and real-life - highly recommended!