augmented reality of buildings from the 12th – 19th centuries in Lublin

In recent years, in research centers and cultural institutions analyzing the past of cities and regions, 3D modeling has become a popular method of recreating the architectural and geographical outline of towns in different periods of their history. Lublin has gone one step further. The city has created a mobile application that generates a 3D image, but in real time and in real space.

The Tourist Lublin mobile application was created for tourists to inform about attractions and events, recommend places worth seeing and visiting. Its integral augmented reality module is an element dedicated also to residents interested in the history of their city. The application can be used by anyone who has access to a mobile device with AR Core support, the Internet and GPS navigation.

The application is based on GPS navigation. The AR module is equipped with a map which, based on the user’s location, leads him to two places where 3D models in AR technology are available. The objects subjected to virtual reconstruction are the parish church of st. Michael the Archangel, formerly located at ul. Grodzka (today Po Farze Square) and the water tower from Wolności Square (formerly Bernardyński Square).

Both reconstructed buildings served important functions in the former Lublin. For five centuries, the parish church was the most important Catholic temple in the city. Its shape filled today’s Po Farze Square, and the tower towered high above the city. The temple was expanded and modified several times. This is what the Tourist Lublin application shows. The user can observe the figure of the Fara in its five scenes, from the twelfth to the nineteenth century. What’s more interesting – it can be visited from the inside.

In turn, the water tower from the end of the 19th century supplied Lublin with drinking water for 50 years. Its body stylized as a tower was decorated with neo-Gothic elements. The tower used to appear on postcards and was an important landmark in the city. Both objects can be observed at scale or real size and rotated around their axis.

The premiere of the application took place at Po Farze Square, with the participation of the media and the President of Lublin, Krzysztof Żuk.

Together with the Tourist Lublin application, a 3D animation with VFX effects was created. The teaser shows in a spectacular way what can be seen in augmented reality.

The stages of the work were very complicated. The task required us to analyze several hundred historical sources and the support of the historian Krzysztof Mucha (for which we are very grateful), a full scan with textures of the square after Farze with an accuracy of 10 cm, the use of a professional drone and a very detailed animatic. Evaluate the effects for yourself.