500 Years of the Philippinum: We’re Restoring the Old School Building

In 1973, the former school building of the Philippinum Gymnasium on the outskirts of Marburg’s Upper Town fell victim to urban renewal. To kick off the anniversary year, it is once again accessible—as a true-to-scale 3D reconstruction that can be explored via a web browser.

The Gymnasium Philippinum Marburg will celebrate its 500th anniversary in 2027. Since its founding in 1527, the school has become an integral part of Hessian educational and cultural life—as a place of academic pursuit, responsible citizenship, and a vibrant community. The anniversary year will kick off on September 3, 2026; the main celebrations will take place from June 4 to 6, 2027.

EUntil now, part of this history had been preserved only in photographs and on maps: The former school building was located between Untergasse and Universitätsstraße and was demolished in 1973 as part of the urban renewal project. Anyone standing there today will not find any trace of it.

INOSOFT has made this building accessible again through a true-to-scale three-dimensional reconstruction. Visitors can explore, among other areas, the principal’s office, the auditorium, and individual classrooms. The reconstruction is based on historical floor plans and photographs, and on information provided by eyewitnesses—that is, people who taught or studied in these rooms.

The tour is not limited to the architecture. Any amount of content can be embedded in the virtual environment: text, images, videos. Portraits of the school principals hang in the principal’s office, and in the auditorium, you can watch a video recording of the 1969 graduation prank. The building is thus not merely a scene, but a memorial, with every detail modeled after the original.

Technically, the application is based on Waypoints, the technology developed by INOSOFT for navigable digital spaces. It runs entirely in the browser, on computers as well as on smartphones —no installation required, no VR headset needed.

The reconstruction is available at: ino.ag/phille

“Dr. Bernhard Rosenkötter from the Philippinum approached us with the idea of bringing the old school building back to life,” says Thomas Winzer, CEO of INOSOFT. “He was familiar with our reconstructions of the medieval synagogue and the synagogue on Universitätsstraße. The fact that the Philippinum’s property bordered that same street was an additional reason for us to pursue this idea."