Lake Zurich

Here, you are standing at the northern tip of the lake. Switzerland is home to almost 200 lakes, and Lake Zurich—of which you can only see a small portion—takes the form of a 42-kilometer-long banana. It spans 88 square kilometers and reaches a depth of 143 meters. You can propably guess it takes a lot for the lake to fully freeze! The last time that happened was during the winter of 1963, an extraordinary event that attracted thousands of people. There’s more to it—archaeological excavations have revealed prehistoric stilt houses beneath these waters. Therefore, the site is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and protected by Swiss federal law. Divers have uncovered almost complete sets of household items: cooking tools, storage containers, bone instruments, stone axes, textile fragments, and even jewelry made from animal teeth. From a Bronze Age settlement, they also recovered bronze axes, knives, fishhooks, and ornaments. A true underwater treasure trove, perfectly preserved by the depths of the lake. These discoveries have given scientists valuable insight into the lives of the population that lived here between 4350 and 2400 BC. A fascinating reminder that long before you came to visit beautiful Zurich, countless lives and stories had already unfolded on these very shores.