Halbinsel and Sumpf

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Halbinsel

   At the northern tip of Lake Sempach, near the little town of Sursee in the canton of Lucerne, a small peninsula pushes into the water, and on and around it lie the remains of prehistoric lakeside settlements, part of the World Heritage site of the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps. Nothing remains visible above ground, but under the water and in the wet soil of the shore, piles and objects have survived for thousands of years, telling the story of farmers and fishermen who lived here long before the Romans. Today, the shore is a quiet area of reeds, meadows and paths, popular with walkers and cyclists.

   Read the complete Halbinsel write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Halbinsel is where the day begins. Next is Ägelmoos.

2. 2. Ägelmoos

   Lake Hallwil is a long, narrow lake in the Aargau, lying north to south between low hills, and it is the quiet cousin of the bigger Swiss lakes. At its northern end stands a moated castle, Schloss Hallwyl, a grey medieval fortress surrounded by water that looks as if it belongs on a stage, and which holds a museum of its centuries of family life. The lake's shore is a mix of reed beds, meadows and villages, and the water is clean enough for swimming in summer. Rowing boats and small sailboats drift across it on warm afternoons.

   Read the complete Ägelmoos write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Ägelmoos comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Egolzwil 3.

3. 3. Egolzwil 3

   Archaeologists named a whole Neolithic culture after Egolzwil, a small village in the canton of Lucerne, because the settlements found in the Wauwiler Moos, a former lake turned into peat bog, revealed a way of life older than anything else known in the region at the time. Egolzwil 3, one of these sites, was a village of farmers who lived on the shore of a small lake over six thousand years ago, and it counts as one component of UNESCO's inscription of prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps. The lake was drained in the nineteenth century to create farmland, and the remains were preserved in the wet peat.

   Read the complete Egolzwil 3 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 47 km into the recorded legs you reach Egolzwil 3. Next is Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps.

4. 4. Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps

   Five thousand years ago, people were building houses on stilts at the edge of lakes across the Alps, and then the lakes rose, buried the houses and kept them almost perfectly in the mud. The remains of these pile dwellings, found in the nineteenth century when a drought lowered the water, include posts, tools, textiles, food and even bread, and they gave archaeologists an extraordinary view of Stone Age and Bronze Age life. A hundred and eleven of the sites, in six countries, were listed by UNESCO in 2011, and the Swiss share is the largest.

   Read the complete Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps, about halfway. Next is Sumpf.

5. 5. Sumpf

   Zug-Sumpf was a Bronze Age village on the northern shore of Lake Zug, near the mouth of the river Lorze between Cham and Steinhausen, and the waterlogged ground preserved wooden floors, posts and objects for over three thousand years. Excavations in the twentieth century recovered pottery, bronze tools and even remains of food, and the site sits on the World Heritage list as part of the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps. Some of the finds are displayed in the museum of prehistory in Zug. Today the site lies under modern buildings and meadows, and only the name, which means swamp, recalls its watery origin.

   Read the complete Sumpf write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Sumpf sits at 98 km, about halfway. Next is back through Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps.

6. 6. back through Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps comes up about 140 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Egolzwil 3.

7. 7. back through Egolzwil 3

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Egolzwil 3 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 167 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Egolzwil 3. Next is back through Ägelmoos.

8. 8. back through Ägelmoos

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Ägelmoos write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Ägelmoos, late in the day. Next is Halbinsel.

9. 9. Halbinsel

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Halbinsel write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 212 km.