Seematte and Robenhausen

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Seematte

   Lake Baldegg lies in the Seetal, the lake valley north of Lucerne, a gentle, green landscape of meadows, orchards and woods, with the lake in the middle and the hills rising on either side. Seematte, on the shore near Hitzkirch, is the site of prehistoric lakeside villages, built on piles over the water's edge thousands of years ago, and it was inscribed in the same 2011 listing that covers lakeside villages from France to Slovenia. As with most such sites, there is nothing to see above ground, but the setting is lovely, and standing on the reedy shore you can imagine the wooden houses and dugout canoes.

   Read the complete Seematte write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Seematte is where the day begins. Next is Riedmatt.

2. 2. Riedmatt

   Zug has a reputation as one of the wealthiest places in Switzerland, a small canton of low taxes, glass office blocks and companies registered by the hundred. But beneath the surface, quite literally, lies a much older story. Along the shores of Lake Zug, archaeologists have found the remains of Neolithic and Bronze Age villages built on piles in the shallow water and marshy ground, and Riedmatt, near the border between Steinhausen, Cham and Zug, is one of the sites included in the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps World Heritage listing. As with most such sites, there is nothing visible on the surface; the remains are preserved in the waterlogged ground.

   Read the complete Riedmatt write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Riedmatt comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Enge Alpenquai.

3. 3. Enge Alpenquai

   Zurich's lakefront is one of the most pleasant urban shorelines in Europe, and the Alpenquai, in the district of Enge, is a stretch of it where the city opens up to views across the water to the Alps. On a clear day, especially when the föhn blows from the south, the peaks of the Glarus Alps seem close enough to touch. Under the water off this shore, archaeologists have found the remains of prehistoric villages built on piles along the lake edge, and several of Zurich's shore sites were inscribed in 2011 among the prehistoric pile dwellings of the Alpine lakes. You will see nothing of them from the promenade; they lie in the mud of the lake bed, preserved by the water.

   Read the complete Enge Alpenquai write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 59 km into the recorded legs you reach Enge Alpenquai. Next is Robenhausen.

4. 4. Robenhausen

   In 1858 a local man named Jakob Messikommer began digging in the peat bog at Robenhausen, on the southern end of the Pfäffikersee in the Zurich Oberland, and he spent decades uncovering a remarkably rich Neolithic pile-dwelling settlement. His finds, from stone axes to woven textiles and charred bread, travelled to museums around the world and helped make Swiss lake dwellings famous. Today Robenhausen is one of the components of the UNESCO Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps, though what remains lies underground in a protected wetland.

   Read the complete Robenhausen write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Robenhausen, about halfway. Next is back through Enge Alpenquai.

5. 5. back through Enge Alpenquai

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Enge Alpenquai write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Enge Alpenquai sits at 104 km, about halfway. Next is back through Riedmatt.

6. 6. back through Riedmatt

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Riedmatt write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Riedmatt comes up about 149 km into the recorded legs. Next is Seematte.

7. 7. Seematte

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Seematte write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Seematte closes the day.