Back to Düsseldorf in 1850 with VR

The Schumann Museum is currently offering a virtual journey through time to the Düsseldorf of Robert and Clara Schumann. Using virtual reality glasses, visitors can experience how much the city has changed over the past 170 years.

A carriage rumbles along a cobbled street in Friedrichstadt. Instead of a huge number of cars, there are only a few passers-by on the paths; instead of grey post-war buildings, there are small houses with ornate facades on the roadside. In 1850, when Robert and Clara Schumann lived in Düsseldorf, the lively neighbourhood still had a village-like character - and this world can now be discovered thanks to virtual reality in the Schumann VR Museum.

The agency behind the project is A4VR in Unterbilk. It's not the first project of this kind for the creative duo: a historic tram ride through Cologne was created by the Düsseldorfers. The founders came up with the idea of programming a virtual journey through time for the state capital. "We wanted to show what no longer exists in Düsseldorf today," explains Jan Thiel.

On the trail of Schumann with the tablet

However, it was not just a city tour, but was to be linked to historical figures. The choice fell on the musician couple Clara and Robert Schumann. The exhibition is divided into two sections: Firstly, augmented reality is used to present facts about the life of the artist couple. Visitors are given a tablet on which they can view realistic 3D animations of the Schumanns or their home, while at the same time an audio guide sheds light on the background.

Feel the airstream and vibrations from the past

In the second part of the exhibition, visitors can put on virtual reality glasses and slip into the role of Robert Schumann himself. The viewer sits together with Clara Schumann in the Breidenbacher Hof, travels through historic Düsseldorf in a carriage, for example past the old castle, and can also slip into the role of the conductor and conduct the orchestra at a concert while playing the Rhenish Symphony. However, the special thing is not just the virtual world that you can visit with the glasses, but the many details that the makers have thought of. For example, you can feel the wind and vibrations when travelling in a carriage or smell the scent of the bouquet of roses on the table in the Breidenbacher Hof.

A journey through time with aha effects

For the realistic depiction, the two were given access to the city archives in order to recreate pre-industrial Düsseldorf using historical images. They also discovered some surprising details. "I was amazed at how green Oberkassel still was in 1850," says Michael Albrecht. But the history of the Schumanns also provided the pair with a few aha moments, especially one tragic detail. "I didn't realise that Robert Schumann tried to take his own life by jumping into the Rhine," says Jan Thiel.

The mixture of information and entertainment is intended to be an alternative to the classic museum. "It was important to us that the information is not too dry," says Michael Albrecht. He can well imagine virtual and augmented reality being integrated into school curricula at some point.

But there are also some exciting events and players in Düsseldorf's history that the two would like to bring back to life. For example, Joseph Beuys, the beginnings of Kraftwerk and Die Toten Hosen or the time when Peter Kürten, alias the Vampire of Düsseldorf, was up to mischief.

As part of an interim utilisation, the museum will initially be open until the end of March, possibly even a little longer. After that, the exhibition could be integrated into one of Düsseldorf's existing museums.

Source: rp-online