ABSTRACT
Investigation of Historical Building Data The information obtained from the excavation of the cathedral was insufficient for the reconstruction of the initial architecture. Since neither ground plans nor descriptions existed, the investigation primarily used comparative studies of religious buildings of the same period. Measurements were taken of the various available fragments of the cathedral and then compared with the reconstructed data of the Einhards-Basilica (Carolinian Style) in Steinbach and of the late-Romanesque pre-monastery church in Ilbenstadt. Further information was found in the thesis of Eduard Sebald (1989) and in further special articles on the subject. Data processing
Due to the complexity of the cathedral’s individual style, various detailed 3D CAD computer models and animations of the geometry and appearance had to be developed. Examples of these are shown in Figures 8.1 and 8.2. The Carolinian foundation required some 180,000 polygons; the late Romanic phase 270,000, and for the ‘Gothic Vision’ (Figure 8.3) of the cathedral 2.5 million polygons had to be computed and edited. Great importance was attached to a detailed compilation of
Figure 8.1 Carolinian building AD 897
Figure 8.2 Romanesque building AD 1280
Figure 8.3 Part of the ‘Gothic vision’ of the cathedral
geometric aspects, a representation of the materials and their surfaces, which gives a most realistic impression.
