DOCUMENTATION OF GERMAN EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN I’S TOMB 
W. Boehler 3 , M. Bordas Vicent 3 , K. Hanke b , A. Marbs 3 
i3mainz, Institute for Spatial Information and Surveying Technology, FH Mainz, Holzstrasse 36, 55116 Mainz, Germany, 
i3mainz@geoinform.fh-mainz.de 
b University of Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 13, A 6020 Innsbruck, Austria, Klaus. Hanke@uibk.ac.at 
Working Group 6 
KEY WORDS: Close Range Photogrammetry, Laser Scanning, Data Fusion, Heritage Documentation, Visualization, Conservation 
Project Management. 
ABSTRACT: 
Innsbruck was the residence of the Habsburg Dynasty between 1420 and 1665. The Hofkirche with its tomb of German Emperor 
Maximilian I is one of the most famous and outstanding historical monuments, being in the property of the State of Tyrol. It was built 
between 1555 and 1565 under Ferdinand I (the brother of Emperor Karl V). The cenotaph (i.e.: empty tomb) of Maximilian is located 
in the center of the church’s nave. The cenotaph itself has a base of about 3 m x 5 m. 24 very delicate white marble reliefs are 
attached to a black marble structure which is decorated by bronze elements. With the kneeling Emperor and four more bronze statues 
on top of the monument it is about 5 m high. For centuries the tomb was separated from the visitors by a black iron lattice. In 
addition, the fine caved marble plates were covered by glass. Because of a basic conservation and restoration of the tomb, lattice and 
glass plates were removed for the first time ever since its construction in the 16 th century. For a short period in May 2002 all sides 
were accessible after the temporary housing of the restoration technicians had been removed from one side and not yet been moved 
to the other side for the second restoration period. This time slot could be used for a complete metric documentation of the object. 
Both, close-range photogrammetry and 3D scanning techniques were used. A common geodetic control point system was installed 
for both methods. Photogrammetric work consisted of stereo pairs and separate color images. 3D scanning was accomplished with a 
MENS1 S25 for the overall structure and a GOM ATOS II at high resolution for the relief plates. Line plots from the 
photogrammetric stereo models do not really give an adequate representation of the object. 3D visualization using the scanning 
results can achieve a much better impression of the complicated geometry after the data modelling. In order to model the complex 
geometry, it is necessary to use huge amounts of data. The project proves the enormous potential of these new technologies, but 
shows as well that more progress is ljeeded in hardware and software development to accomplish such demanding tasks. 
Fig. 1: Total view of the cenotaph during the measurement work - for the first time ever without lattices and glass plates