heritage preservation · 2024 · Hybrid + Detail

Küssaberg Castle — digitally preserved.

The Küssaberg castle ruin above Küssaberg in the Waldshut district is one of the most important regional castle complexes from the 11th century. We captured it fully in 3D in 2024 — as an archive copy against weathering, as a planning basis for heritage preservation and as an immersive experience for tourism and education.

View in 3D

Experience the Küssaburg interactively.

Open tour in fullscreen ↗

Gallery

Views from the 3D model.

All images are taken directly from the walkable Matterport model of the castle ruin.

3D data

Download the 3D model.

The interactive online view is the walkable Matterport tour above. In addition, the full-resolution photogrammetry source data is available here for download — for CAD/BIM, 3D software, surveying and research. Each archive contains several capture states of the castle ruin.

OBJ

OBJ · ≈ 561 MB

Mesh incl. MTL. Universal for CAD and 3D software (Blender, Rhino, CAD).

Download OBJ
FBX

FBX · ≈ 653 MB

For 3D / visualisation pipelines (Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, Unreal).

Download FBX
PLY

PLY · ≈ 297 MB

Point cloud / mesh — ideal for surveying and scientific analysis.

Download PLY
GLB

GLB · ≈ 7 MB

Web/AR-optimised model (glTF) — for web viewers & Android AR.

Download GLB
USDZ

USDZ · ≈ 18 MB

AR model for iPhone/iPad (AR Quick Look).

Download USDZ

Large files — best downloaded over a stable connection. Use of the data by arrangement only.

The task

Securing a castle ruin in archive quality.

Castle ruins are constantly at risk — frost, subsidence, vandalism, uncontrolled vegetation. A complete 3D scan isn't "nice to have" — it's often the only way to record the state of the structure unambiguously on a given date.

The challenge at Küssaberg: heavily structured topography, wall remnants in varying states of preservation, vegetation in the upper areas, and the need to bring both the exterior façades and the walkable interior of the keep together within a single consistent, geo-referenced model.

So we worked in three layers: drone photogrammetry for overall topography and outer façades, Matterport Pro LiDAR for the accessible interiors, and handheld-scanner capture for the archaeologically valuable detail areas.

Kuessaburg — 3D-Modell
Hybrid + Detail
siteKüssaberg, DE
OutputMatterpak · WebODM · Detail mesh
Key figures

At a glance.

3
Capture layers
Drone · LiDAR · Handheld scanner
4 days
On site
spread across two weeks
±0,1 mm
Detail-accuracy
in archaeologically relevant areas
Archive
Data format
E57 + OBJ + WebODM bundle
How we did it

Our approach in 4 stages.

STEP 01

Drone flight

Photogrammetric capture of topography and all outer façades under diffuse light. Processing in WebODM into orthophoto, DTM and textured mesh.

STEP 02

LiDAR interior

Matterport Pro scanner in all walkable areas — chapel, casemates, keep. Over 380 scan stations registered into a single point cloud.

STEP 03

Handheld-scanner detail

Sub-millimetre captures of building inscriptions, stonemason marks and erosion fronts — as documented evidence against further decay.

STEP 04

Handover

Matterpak bundle plus WebODM data package plus separate detail meshes from the handheld-scanned areas. Fully geo-referenced.

We now have a data basis with which we can pull up the exact "before" capture on every weathering question. Previously there was no comparable reference — and especially in monument-protection applications this is worth gold.
BK
Heritage preservation project partner
Küssaberg Castle · Lauchringen
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