Hamm Launches Free AR App 'Heimat Hamm' for Interactive City History Tour

The German city of Hamm has unveiled a free augmented reality app called 'Heimat Hamm' that offers an innovative digital walking tour through the city's inner district. The app uses AR technology to overlay historical information and imagery onto current locations, allowing users to visualize sites that no longer exist and explore 800 years of city history. The tour encompasses eleven historical locations plus a surprise final station, all within the city center, and is designed to take approximately two hours to complete.

Mayor Marc Herter presented the app on June 15, 2026, describing it as a way to make city history accessible and engaging, particularly during Hamm's anniversary year. The app features three customizable guide avatars—Grete (adult guide), Toni (child-friendly guide), and Klippi (audio-only mode for visually impaired users)—making the experience accessible to diverse audiences including families, school classes, tourists, and both longtime residents and newcomers. Users can explore the stations in any order they choose and engage with mini-games to deepen their understanding of the city's past.

The project represents a significant municipal investment of 430,000 euros and received substantial support from the North Rhine-Westphalian state government's 'Heimat-Zeugnis' heritage testimony program, administered by the Ministry for Homeland, Municipal Affairs, Construction and Digitization. NRW Minister Ina Scharrenbach attended the app's official presentation on Hamm's market square. The development involved extensive cross-departmental collaboration, including the city archive, Gustav-Lübcke Museum, culture and tourism office, media center, and various digital administration departments.

The technical development was led by German-French company wezit transmedia solutions, while strategic marketing and branding were handled by kollarneuber creative minds. Notable historical locations featured in the tour include the impressive main railway station and lesser-known sites such as Königstraße, where a meeting place for Radbodwitwen existed in a local pub. The app forms a central flagship project of Digitales:Hamm, the city's digital transformation strategy, demonstrating Hamm's commitment to blending heritage preservation with modern technology.