After scanning the Old Town Bridge Tower, 3D models will be created

Prague - After scanning the Old Town Bridge Tower in Prague, a model of the details of its façade will be created using a 3D printer. Visitors will be able to view it in a museum in the future, said Miloslava Hrdličková, the economic and operational deputy of the Museum of the Capital City of Prague, to ČTK. The scanning also serves to assess the condition of the structure. The Bridge Tower is the last in a series of Prague monuments that experts have scanned. The entire Charles Bridge was recorded in this way in 2003.
    "So far, everything is in the planning and preparation stage. But the intention is that from this model, a physical tangible copy will be created on a 3D printer, probably in actual size, which people will be able to view up close," Hrdličková stated.
    The Old Town Tower, along with the bridge, was commissioned by Emperor Charles IV according to the design of Petr Parléř, and his son Václav only had it supplemented with additional decoration. In the 1960s, most of the Gothic statues were replaced with replicas, and between 2002 and 2006, copies made of sandstone were produced, which are still on the tower. The original sculptures are stored in the Lapidarium of the Capital City of Prague.
    Like the tower, the entire Charles Bridge, the statue of St. John of Nepomuk from the Church of the Holy Spirit, and the mask on the supporting pillar of St. Vitus Cathedral have also been scanned. "This method is very suitable for archaeology and monuments due to its gentle nature, but given the lack of awareness, the high demands on computer capacity, and also the lack of funding, its use in these fields is still rather exceptional," added Hrdličková. It is therefore most commonly used in industry, engineering, and medicine.
    For monuments, scanning can reveal the extent of damage to the outer shell of the object. In neighboring countries, entire large heritage complexes have been frequently scanned in recent years thanks to money from European funds.