14 DAY TRIAL // More and more cities around the world, well, mostly in Europe, are now available in full 3D splendor in Google Earth. The latest to get spotlighted it the German city of Dortmund, which has been recreated faithfully in 3D by volunteers for potential tourists and proud citizens alike. Most of its buildings have been modeled from the city center to the outskirts.
"Like many medieval cities, Dortmund is punctuated with churches and other relics that have a history dating back to the Holy Roman Empire. An example would be the Petrikirche (St. Petri Church), which was built in the middle of the 14th century. The church was modeled by geo-modeler ‘chrischibuilder’ using Google Building Maker," Bruce Polderman, Product Manager at Google, wrote.
"The tallest structure in this northern German city is the Florianturm, a TV tower with a height of 219.6 meters that sits at the center of the Westfalenpark. The tower was modeled by geo-modeler ‘Zeitreise Ruhr’ using Google SketchUp. Watch our video to fly to the tower and other landmarks in Dortmund. We invite you to start exploring Dortmund in 3D!," he added.
Dortmund may not have the same ring to it as Paris or Barcelona but it doesn't mean there's not that much to see for the desk-chair traveler. It's probably going to appeal more to the locals and people needing to visit the city, though. Still, it shows that Google is moving ahead with its plan to have the whole world modeled in 3D in Google Earth.
Plenty of other cities around the world are now almost entirely modeled and smaller towns are also getting added. The company even had a competition to ensure that smaller towns are just as motivated to be featured in Google Earth. The Google Model Your Town competition has just ended with over 160 entries. The finalists will be announced on April 1.