COMPARISON OF PHOTOGRAMMETRIC AND COMPUTER VISION TECHNIQUES - 
3D RECONSTRUCTION AND VISUALIZATION OF WARTBURG CASTLE 
Helmut Mayer 3 , Matthias Mosch b , Juergen Peipe c 
a Bundeswehr University Munich, D-85577 Neubiberg, Germany - Helmut.Mayer@unibw-muenchen.de 
b Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany - matthias.mosch@felis.uni-freiburg.de 
c Bundeswehr University Munich, D-85577 Neubiberg, Germany-j-k.peipe@unibw-muenchen.de 
KEY WORDS: Cultural Heritage, Multimedia, Internet, Calibration, Orientation, Modelling, Comparison 
ABSTRACT: 
In recent years, the demand for 3D virtual models has significantly increased in areas such as telecommunication, urban planning, 
and tourism. This paper describes parts of an ongoing project aiming at the creation of a tourist information system for the World 
Wide Web. The latter comprises multimedia presentations of interesting sites and attractions, for instance, a 3D model of Wartburg 
Castle in Germany. To generate the 3D model of this castle, different photographic data acquisition devices, i.e., high resolution 
digital cameras and low resolution camcorder, are used. The paper focuses on the comparison of photogrammetric as well as 
automatic computer vision methods for camera calibration and image orientation based on the Wartburg data set. 
1. THE WARTBURG PROJECT 
Wartburg Castle is situated near Eisenach in the state of 
Thuringia in Germany. Founded in 1067, the castle complex 
(Fig. 1) was extended, destroyed, reconstructed, and renovated 
several times. The Wartburg is a very prominent site with 
respect to German history, well-known because of the 
medieval Contest of Troubadours around the year 1200, 
famous for being the place Martin Luther translated the New 
Testament into the German language about 1520, and 
important as meeting-place and symbol for students and other 
young people being in opposition to feudalism at 1820. 
Nowadays, this monument full of historical reminiscences is a 
significant cultural heritage landmark and, obviously, a 
touristic centre of attraction. 
Figure 1. Wartburg Castle