Department of Geomatics

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Vltava – transformation of historical landscape as a result of floods, dams creation and land-use changes along with cultural and social activities in the river neighborhood

The project, which was carried out in cooperation between the Department of Geomatics and the Faculty of Science of Charles University, focuses on the history of the Vltava River. A large number of maps, plans, photographs and texts documenting the historical landscape around the Vltava River before the construction of the Vltava Cascade were collected. All the materials have been processed into digital form and are available within the comprehensive web-based information system of the old Vltava River.

RESEARCHER

Jiří Cajthaml

TIME PERIOD

1.3.2018 – 31.12.2022

Outputs

Travelling exhibition

Web map application

Physical 3D models

Georeferenced old photographs

Vectorized old map sheets

3D visualization of a extinct landscape

Project characteristics

The project was solved by experts from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of CTU and the Faculty of Science of Charles University. As part of the project, a large amount of archival materials (historical documents, maps, plans, photographs, iconographic sources) containing information about the changes in the landscape along the Vltava River have been processed in an innovative way. Due to the large amount of diverse archival materials, an information system containing processed archival materials, mainly old maps, plans of historical buildings, photographs, historical documents, etc., was created within the project. The Vltava river landscape is one of the examples of a territory in the Czech Republic that has undergone an intensive landscape transformation in the 20th century due to anthropogenic activities, especially the construction of dams, associated with the disappearance of local settlements and the subsequent social changes. On old maps, it is possible to identify buildings in the vicinity of the river (settlements or solitudes), water objects (mills, weirs, dams), communication infrastructure (bridges, wharves). Unfortunately, many of these objects no longer exist. Either they ceased to serve their purpose and were demolished, or they had to give way to the construction of the dam cascade on the Vltava. The project documents the transformation of the flooded areas and their functions using three-dimensional models. The digitisation of existing or vanished buildings along the Vltava takes into account their importance, for example, for understanding the issues of navigation (navigation culverts), crossing the river (ferries, bridges), the use of water power (mills) and floods.