In the photo: Édouard Lecanuet, production assistant at Histovery, Minister Valérie Lescrenier in charge of Tourism and Heritage, Marc de Villenfagne, managing director of the Citadelle of Dinant, and Axel Tixhon, professor in the History Department at UNamur, inaugurate the HistoPad, a 3D reconstruction tool of the history of the Citadelle of Dinant. A project scientifically validated by Axel Tixhon.

Thanks to an interactive tablet christened HistoPad, the public can explore the site like never before. At various points along the route, visitors discover historical scenes recreated in 3D, supported by rigorous documentation and faithful reproductions of period settings, costumes and objects.

Three key periods have been selected for this immersion:

  • 1821, Dutch period and construction of the fort
  • 1832, Belgian period during which the Citadelle becomes a military prison
  • 1914, during the First World War, the site is the scene of confrontations

Historical rigor at the service of innovation

Professor Tixhon was involved in all stages of the project, as a member of the scientific committee. Initially, he highlighted historically interesting events and traces still visible today, such as artillery pieces, an old kitchen or a bakery. It also provided Histovery with relevant and reliable documentation.

A faithful historical reconstruction, down to the smallest detail

His expertise has made it possible to assess the historical accuracy of the reconstructions.

Image
Axel Tixhon

They asked me to validate details, such as the Dutch army uniforms or the handling of weapons," he explains. "We also had to avoid anachronisms. For example, the Histovery team had displayed an 1850 portrait of King Leopold I in the office of a fort commander in 1832. They had also displayed the current coats of arms of the 9 Belgian provinces, which didn't match the coats of arms of the time. So we had to find the right portrait and the right coats of arms.

Axel Tixhon Professor in the History Department and member of the UNamur PaTHs Institute

The invisible recomposed through archives

Some locations have also been virtually recreated from ancient iconographic sources, such as an ingenious wooden mechanism that once carried water from the Meuse to the fortress.

Histovery, already known for its achievements at the Château de Chambord, the Palais de papes in Avignon and Fort Alamo in the USA, here signs a Walloon first, blending heritage, innovation and scientific rigor. A success that demonstrates, once again, the relevance of dialogue between experts at the University of Namur and socio-economic and cultural players.

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The Patrimoines, transmissions, héritages (PaTHs) institute

The Patrimoines, Transmissions, Héritages (PaTHs) institute is a federation of research centers and groups that have sprung up in and around the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. The institute is made up of several research clusters. Axel Tixhon is a member of the HISI cluster (History, Sounds, Images).

Logo institut de recherche PATHS

UNamur History Department

As a discipline, history surveys the human past in all its complexity: populations, economies, techniques, politics, religions, arts, ideologies, etc.