Village Ettsi

The picturesque village of Ettsi is located near Umhausen in Austria. It is an incredibly beautiful place, surrounded by mountains and lush greenery.

There is a small lake in the middle of the village with benches along the banks. However, the village is not remarkable for its spectacular views and the opportunity to be alone with nature. The site is of archaeological and historical importance, and the main attraction for tourists is the remarkable open-air archaeological museum.

This place became famous for an amazing archaeological find — well-preserved human remains dating back at least 5,000 years.

On 19 September 1991, two German mountaineers, Erika and Helmut Simon from Nuremberg, stumbled upon a mummy frozen in a glacier. The find was made at an altitude of 3208 metres in the Ötztal Alps. The ice-covered rock cavity created a low enough temperature to preserve the ancient man's body in perfect condition. The mummy was only discovered when the glacier melted due to record temperatures in the summer of 1991.

Scientists were able to identify the body as a man with blue eyes, who was given the name Ettsi. The body was perfectly preserved and the man wore goat or sheepskins and cowhide shoes. He also had a bow and arrow, a brown bear hat, a copper axe (the only surviving tool from the period in the world) and a dagger with a flint point and an ash handle.

The man was about 45-46 years old at the time of death (the margin of error is about 5 years). Ettsi's left shoulder was injured by an arrow, and an old head injury was also found. The mummy also has numerous tattoos. At the time, coal dust was rubbed into the small puncture wounds to decorate them with drawings. Today, more than 60 of Ettsi's tattoos are believed to be the oldest tattoos in the world.

After an archaeological find that was a real cultural and historical sensation, the settlement became the site of active excavations.

Today it is the site of an open-air museum dedicated to Neolithic man, which was inaugurated in 2000. Reconstructions of Neolithic houses, tools, household and hunting items are on display.

There is also a children's camp and a restaurant for tourists. An interesting fact is that in Ettsi today there are animals that also lived in the Neolithic period. These include Przewalski's horses, bison, wild boar and others.

The village is such a popular attraction that at least 55,000 people visit it every year. The area of the archaeological park is constantly expanding. The original area was about 4,000 m², but it has been extended to 12,000 m².

1. An open-air museum. The guided tour of the village includes not only an overview of the exhibits, but also a fascinating account of how Ettsi and all the other people of the time lived, the characteristics of the Neolithic period, the further development of the settlement, etc. The tour includes a 30-minute film presentation of the life of the Neolithic people: how they raised animals, milked goats, cooked food, hunted, etc.
2. A children's camp. The children often take part in workshops on Stone Age survival. Children learn how to make fire without matches using handicrafts and natural materials, sharpen knives on stone grinders, make knives from flint, sew leather bags, shoot arrows, cook food in stone ovens, apply symbolic painting (no tattoos, only natural berry juice, with participants picking berries themselves) and much more. Children will learn how to identify edible wild plants and what to look out for when drinking water. Children between the ages of 5 and 12 are welcome.
3. A mini zoo. The village has aviaries with species and breeds that were kept by Neolithic man. Woolly Mangalitsa pigs (one of the oldest pig breeds in Europe), wild Przewalski's horses, aurochs, goats and Soay sheep, which do not need to have their curly short wool cut, are all friendly and eager for treats from visitors. There are also trout in the local pond.
4. Ötzi's Lunch Restaurant. Ötzi's Einkehr is a tourist restaurant that is not just an ordinary food court, but a unique establishment with prehistoric food on the menu. Of course, you can also get modern meals such as salads, cakes, ice cream and drinks, as well as meat grilled on the fire and scones baked in a stone oven. Ötzi's Einkehr also caters for birthdays, theme parties and other celebrations.
5. A souvenir shop. There is a small shop on site where you can buy souvenirs.
6. Near the village there is another interesting attraction, the Eztal Birds of Prey Park. Visiting both the village and the park is an incredible adventure that the whole family will remember for a long time. The two sites are adjacent to each other and cover a total area of around 17,000 m², located at the foot of the Stuibenfall, the highest waterfall in Tyrol.

For those wishing to celebrate a birthday here, you can book a package that includes

• A guided tour of the village;
• A friendship bracelet making workshop;
• A berry snack;
• A gift of souvenirs;
• A surprise for the birthday child.

The package costs approximately €21 per person.

Children who wish to stay in the camp for a few days with an overnight stay are offered a place in a specially equipped campsite.

The village also offers a family camping service that includes activities such as the Great Bear Hunt and a hike to the foot of Stuibenfall. The family camping trip lasts four days and involves staying in your own tent at a local campsite.

Various events, shows and workshops are often held in the village: presentations of Stone Age craft techniques (stone working, making fires and boiling water with stones), painting stones with your own berry juice, demonstrations of Neolithic craft techniques with a focus on bows and arrows, tasting dishes made according to prehistoric recipes, etc.

• The tour lasts one hour, but you should allow at least two or three hours to visit the facilities, as there is time for a self-guided walk around the grounds, lunch in the restaurant and a workshop if you wish.
• Group tours and tours in a foreign language (English, Italian or French) can be booked in advance.
• Dogs are allowed in the village but must be kept on a lead and muzzled. If you don't have a muzzle, you can buy one on the spot.
• If you're taking your children to a local camp for a few days, they'll need a tent, rucksack and sleeping bag. Various materials for workshops and activities, as well as organic food, are included in the ticket price.
• If you want to celebrate a child's birthday in the countryside, there must be at least five children and one adult in the group.
• To save money, you can buy a combined ticket for Ettsi Village and the nearby Birds of Prey Park.