Safeguarding built cultural heritage is vital for maintaining historical identity and ensuring sustainable management practices. The rapid development of geospatial technologies and web-based platforms has opened new avenues for collecting, interpreting, and sharing heritage data in dynamic and user-friendly formats. Cultural heritage constitutes a fundamental and distinctive pillar of Europe’s cultural identity, while also representing a critical dimension of sustainable development and tourism policy. This study explores the use of online 3D geospatial tools in the documentation and preservation of the Stone Bridge in Băile Herculane, Romania, a significant 19th-century architectural landmark. Despite increasing awareness of digital heritage’s transformative potential, significant challenges persist in embedding these tools within sustainable tourism frameworks—particularly for smaller or underrepresented archaeological sites. By integrating geodesy, 3D modeling, and virtual reality systems (VR), detailed spatial datasets were generated, processed, and published through an interactive web platform. The resulting system allows for high-precision visualization, structural assessment, and ongoing monitoring of the monument, while also encouraging collaborative heritage management by granting open access to specialists, decision-makers, and the wider public. The case study illustrates how digital documentation can strengthen efforts to protect endangered heritage structures and support long-term preservation strategies. More broadly, the research emphasizes the versatility of web-based 3D geospatial technologies as a framework for managing cultural heritage sites in diverse settings.

Băile Herculane Stone Bridge, cultural heritage; preservation; sustainable management; tourism; virtual tourism; 3D documentation

geodesy engineering

Presentation: oral presentation