Digital Representations of the Rhine River Valley between Bingen and Koblenz

For 65 kilometers, between Bingen and Koblenz, the Rhine River flows through a deep valley. This area, called the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, contains extraordinary historical evidence of art, history, and the interaction between man and nature. The presence of this virtually intact, valuable evidence is the reason why the local authorities have nominated this cultural landscape for inclusion to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The nomination will be examined at a session of the World Heritage Committee in Budapest in June 2002. UNESCO has encouraged the nominants to supply new forms of spatial presentations of potential sites, and in particular geographic information systems. This paper summarises how landscapes can be stored and presented in digital form and shows several pilot systems which are of special value for the digital representation of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. 1 THE UPPER MIDDLE RHINE VALLEY 1.1 Geology and Valley Dimensions This part of the Rhine River Valley was formed in the last ten million years by the river cutting its way through the Rhenish Schist Mountains whose formation began about 65 million years ago. Between Bingen and Koblenz (Coblence) the river flows through a deep valley, losing 16 m in elevation over the 65 kilometer distance (cf. Fig. 1). On average it is 300 to 400 m wide, but the width may reduce to less than 250 m at narrow places. Predominantly, the valley bottom is not much wider than the river itself, giving just enough room for a railway line and a road on either side. Settlements could only develop at places where the valley bottom is wide enough or where side rivers join the Rhine River. The flanks of the valley, covered with forest or vineyards, are very steep and slope at an angle up to near 45 degrees at heights up to 300 meters. 1.2 History Human presence along the river is documented well back to the early Iron Times (Hunsrück-Eifel Culture) but the Romans, who occupied the area for five centuries starting around 50 BC, were the first ones to use the river for transportation. They also built a road along the left side of the river and introduced the cultivation of grapes for wine production. During the Middle Ages, settlements were founded and expanded. Many impressive buildings, especially churches, were erected. In the late Middle Ages, when the area was fragmented among many sovereign states, more churches and most of the more than 40 castles along this stretch of the river were built. In the 19 Century, a romantic view of this part of the Rhine River developed. The area close to and containing the river was viewed as a typical German landscape. The ancient buildings were considered as cultural heritage monuments and many old castles and ruins were restored. The draw of tourists began at this time already. The hotels built during this period are still characteristic of the region. In the 20 Century, 75 percent of the former wine-growing areas were laid fallow, resulting in the gradual progression from low-lying brush to forest land. Since major industrial activity did not significantly develop in this part of the Rhine Valley, settlements did not grow as fast as elsewhere. Thus, with few exceptions, the landscape is still characterised by the patterns developed in the past. Tourism is the main source of income another reason to protect this cultural landscape and to control its further development. Figure 1: The Upper Middle Rhine Valley is located between Bingen and Koblenz