Gregor NOVAKOVIĆ | Luca ROZMAN | Aleš LAZAR
(Magelan Skupina, Slovenia)
Abstract:
In modern times, cultural heritage is coming under increasing threat. This situation is not always present in our minds and is made even more serious by a lack of knowledge on the cultural heritage. With this in mind, a group of young researchers proactively decided to bring to life the Romanesque Wartenberg Castle and make it come alive for the local population in the form of a reconstruction. After days of research into various manners of presentation, we opted to use the terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) to carry out three-dimensional measurements of the preserved castle remains and its surrounding area. This provided us with an accurate topographical description that clearly defined the ground plans of the various castle buildings. Equipped with reliable metric data, modest written records, expert knowledge and the oral tradition, we attempted to reconstruct the castle with an animated 3D video. The first version of the video was presented in Kranj, a city in Slovenia not far from the castle during which it became clear that the public was not familiar with the cultural monument in their vicinity. Generally, numerous cultural monuments are today hidden from view and some of them very poorly preserved, only as heaps of stone. This is where archaeology steps in, obtains reliable data using non-destructive methods, makes the monuments come to life and presents them to the public. The interest of this particular monument for archaeologists lay primarily in that it has never been accurately measured and investigated. It is mentioned in written records, but these are brief and leave many questions unanswered, for example the exact date when the Counts of Ortenburg had it built, at what time it became property of the Freising seigneury of Škofja Loka and why the ministerials of Ortenburg remained at the castle for the following half a century, until the last mention of it in 1263. What has been revealed by the gathered data is that the 78 years of confirmed existence of Wartenberg Castle left behind traces of the palatium, perimeter walls and buildings lining the latter. These traces have mostly been preserved as heaps of stone, only in a small measure as upstanding walls. Preserved best is the palatium, with walls standing up to two metres high. It had another building constructed next to it, together forming a large residential complex. The castle, with its Romanesque construction and irregular perimeter wall layout, ranks among the so-called Kastellburgen.