3D Simulation Resurrects Heidelberg Castle

Martin Luther once praised the beauty and resistance of the imposing Heidelberg Castle - the reformer came to Heidelberg to defend his theses. Later, after the defenses were blown up by the troops of the French Sun King Louis XIV, their remains became the epitome of German Romanticism.

Where today empty window sockets look out over the valley and remnants of walls soar into the sky, visitors can climb the once massive and now half-blown-off thick tower or climb the 360-degree Let your eyes wander through the castle courtyard in 1683.

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Virtually reconstructed every detail on the computer

The reconstruction of the architectural historian is said to be captivating due to its richness of detail, which previous reconstructions of historical landmarks such as in the Assassins Creed series of computer games did not achieve. The effort for the digital reconstruction is considerable: Using historical plans, views and drawings, every detail has to be modeled on the computer.

"It's not like you scan a few pictures and the computer does the rest," explains Hanschke. The way the creators of imaginary game worlds and the architectural historian work is somewhat similar. However, his reconstruction is not a fantasy world, but a scientifically accurate replica that is based on historical sources down to the smallest detail, emphasizes Hanschke.

Virtual 360 ° tour of the courtyard

During his five years of research, he was able to fall back on many image sources, since 100 years ago there were efforts to rebuild the Heidelberg Castle. "Like the Hohkönigsburg in Alsace," explains the scientist. The entire building stock was documented and measured and hundreds of plans were drawn up. "This is probably the most complete building survey of a German castle," says Hanschke. Large amounts of data have also been generated during digital reconstruction - in reality, the lock extends to 270 mx 280 m, and at least 3 Gb of storage space on the hard disk.

Here you can experience a virtual tour in the courtyard of Heidelberg Castle:

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However, Hanschke is not concerned with rebuilding the castle. He only wants to directly experience the results of the historical research work that made up the lion's share of his project. Frank Thomas Lang from the Baden-Württemberg State Palaces and Gardens is enthusiastic about Hanschke's project: "The reconstructions are extraordinarily impressive and also make it visible to laypersons what the Heidelberg Castle was in its heyday - an invaluable advantage."

Hanschke has backed the computer simulations with a publication of around 500 pages, which also represents his habilitation thesis. In addition to the suggestive castle views, the richly illustrated volume contains many photos and historical views as well as an exhaustively researched castle history based on the sources. (kj)

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