Schönhof – the main building of the Silesian Museum and an architectural ‘gem’ in the heart of Görlitz’s old town – will soon be accessible to visitors from anywhere in the world. This is made possible by the ‘Schönhof digital’ project, which the Silesian Museum is carrying out in collaboration with the Foundation for the Virtualisation of National Cultural Heritage in Gorzów Wielkopolski (Landsberg). The project is being realised as part of the ‘dive in. Programme for Digital Interactions’ run by the Federal Cultural Foundation and is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) under the NEUSTART KULTUR programme.
The historic monument is not only one of the city’s most historically significant buildings, but is also of European significance. Rebuilt in its present form in 1526, it is considered one of the oldest secular Renaissance buildings north of the Alps. The Schönhof served as a royal residence, the home of many mayors and a model for other Renaissance buildings in Görlitz. Today, its façade, interior architecture, ceiling and wall paintings, and historic plasterwork bear witness to this.
The project involves the creation of a multilingual online platform featuring an interactive tour that takes visitors on a virtual journey through the historic building of the Silesian Museum in Görlitz. To this end, the Schönhof has been surveyed and visualised using the latest measurement and visualisation technologies since January 2022: 3D laser scanning of the architecture, optical 3D scanning of architectural details, sculptures and crafts, photogrammetry for the development of a virtual tour, photographs, films and aerial panoramas, 3D printing and modelling of digitised objects, gigapixel photography and films in 4K and 8K resolution.
This highly specialised work is being carried out by the Polish project partner, the Foundation for the Virtualisation of the National Cultural Heritage. It has many years of experience in the comprehensive 2D/3D digitisation and virtualisation of unique monuments of sacred and secular architecture, painting, sculpture and crafts that form part of Europe’s cultural heritage.
The website currently under development will be accessible on multimedia devices (tablets, smartphones) and via virtual reality headsets. The tour serves as an interactive museum guide featuring 3D models of the monuments, gigapixel panoramas of the interiors, gigapixel photos of the paintings and multilingual descriptions. These features can be used on-site by museum visitors or enable a virtual tour of Schönhof and its exhibits online. “The project is very important to us because it enriches the traditional museum experience with interactive possibilities and takes visitors on a journey through Schönhof’s eventful history, into which they can literally immerse themselves,” says Dr Agnieszka Gąsior, Director of the Silesian Museum in Görlitz. Furthermore, the digital images of the Schönhof and the exhibits are valuable for educational programmes and, in particular, for research and conservation purposes.
