Digital Representations of the Rhine River Valley Between Bingen and Koblenz 
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The advent of information technology has created new tools, such as digital elevation models and geographic information systems 
(GIS) where all information about a landscape can be stored and managed in one single data base. Since a common reference system 
is used, any theme or combination of themes can be retrieved and presented in textual or graphical form. The potential of such a 
system exceeds by far the limited possibilities of printed documents. 
3.2 New Possibilities for Publication 
Numerous books have been published about a landscapes like the Rhine Valley. No matter how beautiful (and expensive) they are, 
each one can only show a limited degree of detail. If more information is needed, additional sources have to be consulted. 
If all available information is available in a GIS published on a CD-ROM (or DVD or similar) or in the Internet, the cost of 
publication, and even more so the cost of access, are much cheaper than the use of printed media. Any user, from an expert to an 
interested layman, can quickly select and retrieve the data to the level of detail that he or she is interested in. Thus, the valuable 
information is not hidden in specialist libraries. Such easily accessible data sources will motivate young people and students with 
good computer knowledge to reflect on the landscape and to develop a sense of responsibility for its future development. 
Digital information can be animated to images travelling through space or time. Since videos of this kind are both informative and 
entertaining, they are ideally suited to attract people to local information centers. 
3.3 UNESCO Suggestions 
After UNESCO had introduced legal instruments to recognize and protect cultural landscapes of outstanding universal value 
(UNESCO 1972, 1999), and several cultural landscapes were included in the World Heritage List, it was soon realized, that "the 
resources management, e.g. the management and protection of the cultural values for which these sites have been inscribed, has to be 
improved" (Roessler 2000). It is obvious that surveying and mapping procedures, based on sufficiently complete and updated data 
bases, are needed to document and monitor the sites and to allow predictive modeling of future developments. The role of GISs is of 
special importance in this context (UNESCO 1999), and the parties who made nominations (e.g. the Upper Middle Rhine Valley) 
which will be examined at the 26th session of the World Heritage Committee (Budapest, June 2002) have been asked to supply new 
forms of presentations, particularly geographic information systems, as models for the future revised format of nominations 
(UNESCO 2001). 
Especially in the case of'continuing landscapes' (UNESCO 1999), where a large number of authorities and private owners may have 
to co-ordinate their actions, and political decisions have to be prepared and mediated, a GIS is a valuable tool for planning and 
modeling future developments. Changes within the landscape or in its neighborhood may impair or even destroy its cultural value. 
This is why UNESCO demands these tools for “reactive monitoring” and “periodic reporting” to ensure that World Heritage Sites 
remain undestroyed and can remain on the World Heritage List. 
4. TYPES OF DIGITAL REPRESENTATIONS 
4.1 Geographic Information System 
Basic GIS. As a minimum requirement, a basic 2D GIS should be available. For a cultural heritage landscape, the basic topographic, 
cultural and administrative features within the core and buffer boundaries should be included in this database. All information must 
be geo-coded in a common reference system. Usually, coordinates will be given in the local land survey system. Since any coordinate 
transformation can be modeled by mathematical formulas, a GIS can easily provide additional coordinate references such as the 
geographical coordinates of WGS84 which is used with GPS equipment world-wide. 
From the many GIS software products available UNESCO has chosen ESRI’s Arclnfo format as a standard for cultural landscapes of 
the World Heritage List (UNESCO 2001). 
Thematic diversity. Numerous research projects have been carried out for a region like the Rhine Valley by different disciplines 
(geology, fauna, flora, forestry, agriculture, urban development, environmental sciences, etc.). A GIS can have tremendous value, if 
all this information is retrieved from the archives and input to the system. This can be a very time-consuming process since many 
studies do not contain a precise spatial reference. Future research projects should be funded on the condition that their results meet 
the standards for inclusion into the GIS. 
4.2 Further Variations 
See figure 2 for this section. 
2D, 2 AD, 3D. Elevation information is essential to document and to understand a landscape. Analogue 2D maps usually use contour 
lines for this purpose. Digital databases store elevations in the form of digital elevation models (DEM), which allow automatic 
investigations (elevation zones, drainage, aspect, slope) as well as the creation of contour lines, perspective views and virtual flights. 
Since only one elevation is supplied for a point, such a “2‘AD” DEM system is limited to topography. Buildings, containing many 
vertical elements, can only be modeled in a true 3D system. 3D systems can be constructed, but it is a tremendous task to model large 
settlements, e.g. a complete city.