Canton of Zug

The canton of Zug, also Zoug ; German pronunciation: [tsuːk] ) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. It is located in central Switzerland and its capital is Zug. At 239 km2 the canton is one of the smallest of the Swiss cantons in terms of area. It is not subdivided into districts, but eleven municipalities.

The first trace of a settlement in the canton dates from approximately 14,000 BC, with additional finds from the Paleolithic and the Mesolithic . During the Neolithic and the Bronze Age about 50 different stilt house villages were built in 33 locations around Lake Zug. Some of these sites are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps. Prehistoric sites around the lake and throughout the canton include examples from the Neolithic Egolzwiler, Cortaillod, Pfyn and Horgen cultures. Traces of the later Neolithic Bell Beaker and Corded Ware cultures as well as the early Bronze Age are less common. There were several large later Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements. On the Baarburg the ruins of an Iron Age celtic prince's castle from about 500 BC contained Greek ceramics and etruscan metal vessels. Some of the names around the canton are possibly celtic in origin including Baar, Cham, Lorze, Sihl and possibly Reuss.

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