The main objective of the project is to record the knowledge about West-Pomeranian half-timbered building traditions and to make it accessible by creating a “virtual open-air museum” so that the unique monuments of material culture and technologies of old carpenters and builders may be available to a wide audience.

No “classic” open-air museum has been established in West Pomerania so far, therefore the popularisation of the knowledge of the local half-timbered architecture in the material (surviving buildings) and non-material (construction technology) aspect is of great importance. Biuro Dokumentacji Zabytków w Szczecinie (the Historical Monuments Documentation Office in Szczecin) has developed an alternative solution called “Virtual Open-Air Museum by the Road. From Stary Kraków to Nowe Warpno", giving the possibility to encounter the unique objects of the half-timbered architecture in the West-Pomeranian Voivodeship, including a church in Krupy (ca. 1400), a town hall in Nowe Warpno (1697), a cottage of a Saxon layout in Krupy (the 1st half of the 18th century), an arcaded forge in Dolsk (1781) or a watermill in Głęboczek (1895). The project involves actions aimed at the increase of knowledge and meaning of the half-timbered heritage of the region in the national and European context.

The website presents half-timbered architecture models developed with the use of photogrammetry, information notes and a rich collection of pictures. The website is bilingual, intuitive, user-friendly and available for the audience of particular needs. It may be an alternative for field research. The virtual objects will always be accessible, safe and provided with approachable information.

Since 2018, Biuro Dokumentacji Zabytków w Szczecinie has been recording the West-Pomeranian heritage through its digitalisation (laser scanning) and photogrammetry. It employs interdisciplinary staff and uses a specialised virtual studio. This experience has become the basis for developing an interactive website within the project entitled u “Virtual Open-Air Museum by the Road. From Stary Kraków to Nowe Warpno", financially supported by the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport of the Republic of Poland within the “Kultura ludowa i tradycyjna 2021 (Folk and Traditional Culture 2021)” programme.