Luxembourg: Futuristic VR tech will transport visitors to the past

It offers the chance to experience the city as it was in 1867

The city of Luxembourg is getting ready to set up a VR tour of the iconic Pfaffenthal district that will take visitors on a stroll to 1867. The unique virtual reality trip was developed by a German/Luxembourgish company called Urban Timetravel and the project has entered its final stages this May.

Visitors are already able to book time travel tours of the Grand Duchy’s capital as part of the Pétrusse Express. The city has also stated that in these stages, the experience will be refined until it reaches its complete state in November.

The future is giving us a realistic rendition of the past

The Pfaffenthal district in Luxembourg is at the heart of the city since at least the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the German word Pfaffen, which means monk and Tal which means valley. The district is located on the Alzette River, in a gorge, splitting the capital. During medieval times it was heavily inhabited by craftsmen and artisans, who used the river.

A glimpse into the VR world of 1867, Source: Urban Timetravel on Facebook

The VR time travel journey, however, takes us to the year 1867. Visitors riding on the Pétrusse Express will have access to headsets, that will let them glimpse the same locations, recreated in digital space as they looked in the mid-19^th century. This is one of the first trips using a geolocated vehicle, to track passengers’ movement through space.

When the Pétrusse Express, a small tourist train, reaches the start of the valley, people will be asked to put on their headsets. This will put them in the front seat of a fictional, virtual horse-drawn carriage, and give them a chance to look around and see what this part of town looked like in the days of old.

The company developed the virtual space with the help of the archives of two local museums and the City Library. The first trial run was in 2018 when the system could support a single viewer. Now, it can handle 15.