Abstract
Archaeological research during the last century documents that the prehistoric architecture of Central Europe reached very early a high technical level of development, at least in some regions. The regional differences are caused by natural environment, especially by different availability of building materials and climate, as well as by cultural factors and local traditions.
The natural conditions have limited the conservation of building relics (wood and other organic matters in wetlands, clay constructions in dry conditions of loess regions, and the like). As early as in the Neolithic and Eneolithic were built the first storeyed houses.
The Bronze Age carpentry is fairly comparable with the mediaeval one. Already in the earlier part of prehistory, all the essential construction principles of wooden architecture had developed, and they were then in place up to the modern times without substantial changes.