Wildes Deutschland

Blue lakes surrounded by forest, lovely bays, wild solitude: in the north of Brandenburg there are lakes whose clarity is reminiscent of crystals. More than 100 of them are in the Stechlin-Ruppiner Land nature park. Above all the Stechlin east of Rheinsberg. It is 69 meters deep, particularly clear and one of the best-researched lakes. Sunbeams play on the backs of silver perch many meters below the surface. In the thicket of riparian vegetation, pike lurk in wait for the right moment to strike at lightning speed. When the water warms up in spring, several male pike will court a female. At his side, they animate the chosen one to give up eggs, scenes that have never been filmed like this before. Large, partly swampy forests surround the Stechlin and shield it from of modern agriculture. Slurry and fertilizers hardly get into the lake. The forest not only protects the lake, one of the fastest birds in the world has recently started breeding here again: the peregrine falcon.

Almost 3,000 kilometers in length, the Danube is the second longest river in Europe. Because of the varied and attractive landscapes along its banks and the rare animal and plant species found there, the Danube is also known as the queen of rivers. Time and again man has tried to conquer the Danube. It was partially canalized and developed as a modern waterway. But the Upper Danube Valley, the Swabian Donaumoos, the Weltenburg Narrows or the mouth of the Isar could be preserved as natural paradises. Rarities such as the peregrine falcon, the European pond turtle, beaver and the curlew hide in the green wilderness along the blue river. The industrious rodent, which was wiped out almost all of Central Europe more than 100 years ago, only returned to its old homeland in the last few decades - thanks to extensive protective measures. Along the German section - from the springs in the wild and romantic Black Forest down to the Austrian border near Passau, the film journey shows the Danube.

The fourth episode in the series is dedicated to the Main. The river, which flows across Germany from east to west for more than 500 kilometers, is a reflection of German nature: tamed and yet unruly. Nowhere else can you see the power of life and the power of nature better. The Main is affectionately called the white sausage equator. In fact, it winds its way through Germany in many twists and turns over 542 kilometers from east to west. From the Fichtelgebirge to Mainz. It is the second longest river that flows along its entire length in Germany. At the same time, the Main is one of the most misunderstood rivers in the country. Because which images do you associate with the Main? The skyline of Frankfurt? The vineyards around Würzburg? The general image of the Main is shaped by the economic miracle after the Second World War. Back then progress meant everything, nature nothing. As a result, the Main looked more like a cesspool than a river in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Palatinate Forest is located in the southwest of Germany, not far from the French border. Colorful red sandstone rocks and countless castles and ruins tower over the fragrant pine forests. The Trifels with its sublime imperial castle is the best-known rock castle. Wildcats and lynxes sneak through the undergrowth, red deer with magnificent antlers and Corsican mouflons with snail-shaped horns strut around in the largest contiguous forest area in Germany. On the border with France in the Dahner Felsenland, the landmark of the Palatinate Forest rises above the treetops: the Teufelstisch, the most famous rock formation in the Palatinate Forest Nature Park. The wine route, which runs along the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest, invites you to linger with its romantic wine villages. The region is one of the warmest in Germany. And so Rock Bunting, Praying Mantis and Green Lizard have settled in the Tuscany of Germany.

Extreme habitats such as the karst landscapes of the Steinernes Meer, the Watzmann with the highest rock face in the Eastern Alps, the Wimbachgries with its constantly shifting streams of debris and the Königssee, one of the deepest lakes in Germany, belong to the Berchtesgaden National Park. If you want to survive in this wilderness, you have to be perfectly adapted to your environment. The documentary introduces some of the most interesting mountain people. At dizzying heights there are chamois with their newborn fawns, always on the lookout for the claws of the golden eagle, and camouflage artists such as the ptarmigan and mountain flowers such as the legendary edelweiss. Marmots tussle on the high pastures, and in the depths of the Königssee the burbot spawns - originally a sea fish that ended up in fresh water ten million years ago.

The Black Forest is known worldwide for its cuckoo clocks and Black Forest cake. But the region has much more to offer: in the mountain forests there is silver fir, up to 60 meters high - a European record. One last impressive giant tree in the northern Black Forest is the 230-year-old, so-called grandfather fir, which towers over all the treetops in the area with a trunk circumference of 1.65 meters and a height of 45 meters. The capercaillie lives hidden in sparse old growth. The extremely shy birds are threatened with extinction due to the destruction of their habitat, climate change and growing tourism. A few lynxes and wildcats from the neighboring Vosges and Swiss Alps have recently been sneaking through the Black Forest again. Eradicated here in the last century, the two cat species return to their ancestral habitat almost unnoticed. There are also alpine animals and plants in the Black Forest that survived the Ice Age at rough altitudes for thousands of years.

The documentary tells of this unusual habitat, which is heavily influenced by humans and yet is close to nature. The village of Lehde, which is crossed by numerous ditches, hidden under shady trees and full of picturesque corners, is considered to be the most attractive Spreewald idyll. There are a few courtyards in this water labyrinth, many of which can only be reached by boat today. When winter arrives, ice connects the islands in the Spreewald. The canals and waterways become comfortable walking and driving routes for days or weeks - anyone who has ever laboriously loaded or unloaded a boat appreciates the help of winter. And it is an unforgettable experience to experience the extraordinary river landscapes of the Spreewald on ice skates or toboggans. Christoph Hauschild sensitively stages the unique river landscape of the Spreewald.