Forest of Heroes

From Lower Saxony and North Rhine Westphalia, from Osnabrück to Paderborn, one of Germany’s most beautiful forests extends for some 150 kilometers - the Teutoburg Forest. The low mountain range became famous due to the Varus Battle that took place in 9 AD. It was here that Hermann, or Arminius, the Cherusci Prince vanquished the Roman occupation army. His monument near Detmold is still the most important landmark of the Teutoburg Forest. But there is even more nature in and around the shadow cast by Hermann. And now, the forest once so dreaded by the Romans, is now known for its unspoiled nature. The dense, tall shrubs on the ridge are home to boars and red deer, dormice and common toads - a valuable forest and a unique habitat. During the damp and windless winter nights, one can experience a rare phenomenon at the Extern Stones: threads of ice seemingly grow out of the deadwood. As thin as hair, in just one night they can grow up to 20 centimetres! In the Wistinghaus Senne, there are even animal forest managers. On behalf of a nature preservation project, Exmoor ponies and Scottish Highland cattle were settled in order to keep the forest in check. At the same time they create open spaces, which are important for other animals, such as the red-backed shrike. In the often more than 100-year-old beech trees, the black woodpecker finds more than enough space to hammer out a hollow in the wood. This usually takes around one month to complete. The woodpecker has to hack at the wood 17 times until one single woodchip becomes loose. This works out as more than 10,000 chips until the nest is complete. During the two years spent filming, nature film makers Svenja and Ralph Schieke were able to document the Teutoburg Forest intensively. The impressive dynamics of the forest are relayed to us via time lapse and seasons-morphing. Remote-controlled drones enable fascinating views of the unique forest landscape.