The research presented in the article focuses on the development of methodological protocols - from survey to digital reconstruction - for the enhancement and protection of built heritage. Through the realisation of virtual reality-based digital models, it is possible to narrate the evolution and transformation of those places that constitute our historical memory. The European Project H2020 Prometheus, focused on the documentation of the Gdańsk fortresses Route, allowed applying these strategies to the Port Battery case study, presented in this paper. The coastal battery, built in the 19th century, is a brick ruin located in the restricted port area of Gdańsk, witness to several historical processes of transformation. To be able to represent the evolution of the building through history, the operational method regarded the digital acquisition of the building to obtain a detailed model representing the state of the battery. Then the archive research and the available historical maps allowed not only to make a comparison between the previous stages of construction and the actual situation but also to digitally reconstruct what has been destroyed. In this way, through Virtual Reality via Head Mounted Display it is possible to obtain an immersive, but accurate, experience of the digital reconstruction being able to re-live the history of a place.

The article describes the landscape history of the Westerplatte Peninsula in Gdańsk (Poland) from the 17th to the 20th century presented as a complex process of the landscape’s environmental, urban and military transformations. Westerplatte is known as the symbolic place where the Second World War in Europe broke out, and for this reason the current discourse is mainly concentrated on that period. Nonetheless, the history of Westerplatte includes many other important events involving Polish, German, Russian and even French politics over the last three centuries. Thanks to its location at the entrance of one of the main harbours on the Baltic Sea, it is cartographically the best-documented part of the Vistula river estuary. A comprehensive archival survey conducted in the Polish and German archives and cartographical analysis of over 200 selected historical maps allowed the authors to reconstruct its spatial history over three centuries. This case study of Westerplatte can be regarded as an example of the research modus operandi of a historical landscape which has been transformed multiple times. It might form the basis for establishing a new policy for its preservation, allowing a balance to be kept between fluctuations of the current historical politics and more universal requirements for the protection of tangible and intangible heritage. The article also stresses the importance of a holistic and interdisciplinary approach in the analysis of a historical landscape and the necessity of proper selection and critical verification of sources.

Based on in situ and archival research, the article traces the history of the creation and transformation of the new barracks on Westerplatte, which is now preserved as a permanent ruin. During the study, a digital survey was conducted using laser scanning, leading to the creation of the virtual reconstruction of the site, using 3D modelling techniques. This reconstruction, among other things, allowed for the visualization of the facility’s condition before the outbreak of the war. For the first time, the article presents views of the elevation, cross-section, and floor plans, verifying the spatial and functional organization of the building’s interior. Additionally, it offers a reinterpretation of the function of its rooms, thereby significantly deepening the existing knowledge.