AR application ARikli
Experience Bled with naturopath Arnold Rikli
Besides the lake and the castle, Bled is known for something else—the life and work of the founder of spa tourism, Arnold Rikli. With the help of an AR app, Tourism Bled demonstrates the town’s digitised heritage and serves as a digital guide with proposals for short, recreational trips around the surrounding Rikli routes.
A presentation of Riklianism and Bled’s cultural heritage
Arnold Rikli was a Swiss naturopath, known mainly for his purely natural approaches to healing. With his activities in Bled in the second half of the 19th century, he helped establish it as a popular destination for health tourism. The treatment and operation according to his principles became so recognizable that it also gained its name—Riklianism.
The digitisation process thus enabled the creation of a mobile application for augmented reality, ARikli, and with it the revival of Rikli's legacy of spa tourism in Bled. ARikli presents the story of Rikli through various digital channels and experiences. This is primarily intended for individuals who are offered suggestions for short trips with included stops with exercises.
Digital guide to the selected paths
In short texts, divided into chapters and equipped with photographs, users of the app learn about Rikli's presence in Bled, his Water-Air-Sun programme and the advanced lifestyle he lived and prescribed to his guests and patients.
The app also contains a symbolic interactive map of Bled with marked Rikli monuments and five routes. The map shows selected restaurants and tourist facilities, including indoor and outdoor swimming areas, the "water" category of Rikli’s famous health triad.
From the digital to the physical world
In addition to providing information, Arnold Rikli’s digitised heritage also activates its users. It offers a variety of suggestions for short trips along the Rikli routes, which include stops with customized exercises from the Rikli programme. This makes the user experience interactive.
Physical points with additional information
Various educational content
Intuitive user experience
The ARikli AR app not only informs and educates its users, but also physically activates them at stops on the routes, in the spirit of the Riklian programme Water-Air-Sun.
