Original subtitles

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(bright orchestral music)

(upbeat orchestral music)

- Our journey begins at Glucksburg Castle,

once in the Kingdom of Denmark and now in Germany.

To the south is the 100-kilometer Kiel Canal,

which joins the Baltic and North Seas.

Off the west coast are the Frisian Islands,

separated from the mainland by sandbars and mudflats.

They are well known for their beautiful beaches.

Back inland is Hamburg, the second largest city in Germany,

and home to one of the biggest ports in Europe.

During World War II this whole region was devastated

by Allied bombing raids and eventually invasion.

At the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp

there is a stark reminder

of the horrors of Nazi Germany.

Our final location is on the outskirts of Hanover,

Herrenhausen, one of the greatest

formal Baroque gardens of Europe.

Back in the 16th century, when Glucksburg Castle

was built in the region of Schleswig-Holstein,

this area was part of Denmark.

In fact, it was Danish up until 1864.

And in 1863 the castle was lived in

by the Prince of Schleswig-Holstein,

who as heir to the Danish throne became King Christian IX,

and created the Royal House of Glucksburg,

which rules to this day.

However, in 1864 Denmark was at war with Germany

over the possession and status

of both Schleswig and Holstein.

The Danes lost following a disastrous and bloody conflict,

and the two regions became part of Germany.

The king may have lost his castle,

but he was to become known as the father-in-law of Europe,

as his descendants married into 14 royal families,

including Britain, Belgium, Norway, Russia, Spain,

Sweden, Austria, and Germany.

(ship's horn blaring)

This container ship is navigating the Kiel Canal,

which joins the Baltic Sea to the North Sea

and is nearly 100 kilometers long.

Germany doesn't owe a great deal to its last kaiser,

especially since he led his country into political isolation

and the disastrous First World War.

But, building the canal in the 1880s was,

in the long term, a good decision.

It was originally named after the monarch's grandfather

and built to make the German Navy more maneuverable.

The canal also avoided the need for German ships

to pass the narrow sand between Sweden and Denmark,

the country they had just been at war with.

As the size of the ships in the Imperial German Navy

increased to match the British fleet

the canal had to be widened between 1907 and 1914.

This allowed the passage

of the vast dreadnought-sized battleships.

The Kiel Canal has since become a busy commercial route.

Roughly 35,000 ships pass through the canal each year,

more than through the Panama and Suez canals combined.

There are detailed traffic rules for the canal

and strict regulations regarding the passing

of oncoming ships.

(bright music)

At either end of the canal are locks,

in order to control the water levels

between the Baltic and the North sea.

The east end of the canal are the Kiel-Holtenau locks

where ships enter and leave the Baltic Sea.

Originally there were two,

but by 1914 two larger ones were added

in order to accommodate German battleships.

They are now known as the smaller and greater locks.

The operation is in the hands of the lock masters,

who organize them in such a way that as far as possible,

there are no waiting times for the ships.

It takes around 25 minutes to go through a lock

and the transit time along the canal

is roughly seven to eight hours.

The time saved by not going through the entrance

to the Baltic between Denmark and Sweden

is roughly 30 hours,

which also means a great saving in fuel.

Our journey now takes a southwest towards the coast,

and on the way we pass Breitenburg Castle,

which has a history stretching back to the 16th century.

The building we see today was largely constructed

in the 19th century in a neo-gothic style.

Until 1864 the house was in Denmark,

and a frequent visitor was the Danish writer

Hans Christian Anderson,

famous for his children's stories

such as "The little Mermaid".

This ship is approaching Bremerhaven

on the estuary of the river Weser

where it meets the North Sea.

(bright orchestral music)

This modern container port is the fourth largest in Europe

and was opened in 1968.

It handles over five million containers each year.

In 2006 the estuary was widened to 600 meters

so that large container ships could turn.

Since the construction of container port four in 2008

the site increased to around three million square meters,

roughly equivalent to the area of 360 football pitches.

The cay is nearly 5,000 meters long

and can load and unload 14 ships at any one time.

Bremerhaven also has what are called wet docs,

which are accessible by two large locks

where well over two million cars

are imported or exported every year,

more than any other port in Europe.

The town of Bremerhaven was began in 1827,

at the same time as the port,

because the city of Bremen,

which is 60 kilometers further up the river,

had silted up by the end of the 18th century

and could no longer handle large ships.

Lying between five and 30 kilometers offshore

from the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark,

are the Frisian islands,

which stretch in a line for roughly 500 kilometers.

Over thousands of years, subsequent storms and flooding

have produced this long chain of islands

separated from the mainland

by the narrow belt of shallow waters

and tidal mudflats known as the Wadden Sea,

which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Although they form a single physical feature,

they are mostly subdivided into the West,

East and North Frisian islands.

We are heading for the East Frisian islands

off the German coast.

For ships approaching Bremerhaven

these are treacherous waters,

and the Hohe Weg lighthouse provides an essential guide

for ships to avoid foundering on the sandbars and mud flats.

It has been in operation since 1856

and took two years to build,

as work was only possible at low tide.

It has since undergone several upgrades.

The lighthouse also provide some space

which can be used as an emergency shelter

by hikers caught in a rising tide

while crossing the sands.

Ahead of us is Spiekeroog,

one of the East Frisian Islands

well known for its glorious beaches.

By the 17th century 13 families were on the island,

making a living from farming and fishing.

In later years, whaling and shipping

became increasingly important to its economy.

During the Napoleonic occupation of the late 18th century

all shipping came to a halt

due to the British blockade of the French coast,

which led to great poverty.

But the Island was rescued at the beginning

of the 19th century when seaside resorts became popular.

And in 1800 Spiekeroog began welcoming holiday makers

to its wide beaches.

And to improve the comfort of tourists and guests

a 1.7 kilometer horse-drawn railway

was built in 1885 between the village and the Western beach.

In 1981 it was reintroduced

to this peaceful car-free Island,

(gentle music)

The Island next to Spiekeroog is the smallest

inhabited one in the East Frisian chain, Wangerooge.

The island is noted for its relaxed atmosphere,

beaches, and stress free way of life.

It's also car free.

Wangerooge's slogan is "God created time,

"but he never mentioned haste."

Until sea defenses were built a century ago

the whole island was shifting eastward

and old buildings were lost to the sea,

including the original Western tower,

which was built in 1597

and then rebuilt in 1933.

It stands 56 meters and is now a very original youth hostel.

Many of the Frisian islands are uninhabited, such as Mellum.

In fact, this island of dunes and tidal marshes

only appeared at the end of the 19th century

due to the outflow of two rivers.

It also changes its shape

in accordance with sea currents and winds.

The island is an important bird sanctuary

and surrounded by a defensive seawall

is its only house, which is used in the summer months

for wildlife observation and scientific research.

For the islands which have a small landing strip

visitors can fly from a coastal airport

or even from the cities of Bremen and Hamburg.

This airplane, heading back to the mainland from Wangerooge

will lead us to our next location.

This is Wilhelmshaven, Germany's only deep water port

and its largest naval base.

Since 2011 it has also become

the country's largest military base.

It was in 1869 that the German emperor

expanded the town and port into a base

for the expansion of his naval fleet.

A shipbuilding yard was also developed

and in 1934 the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee

was launched here.

During the Second World War,

Allied bombing inflicted heavy damage on the dock yard

as well as the town.

And in 1945 the Canadian army captured Wilhelmshaven

along with 200 ships.

In the 1950s the deep water channel

led to the construction of an oil tanker jetty,

and today Wilhelmshaven is Germany's most significant port

for importing crude oil,

with pipelines running to Hamburg

and the Rhine-Ruhr industrial region.

40 kilometers south is the city of Oldenburg,

which had a settlement here as early as the eighth century.

However, the city was not always in Germany,

because up until 1773 it was ruled by Denmark,

whose king was also the Count of Oldenburg.

During the 17th century it had a growing population

and had become a prosperous place,

reflected in its many fine buildings.

But in 1667 a disastrous plague epidemic struck the city

and shortly afterwards a fire

razed much of it to the ground.

As the Danish kings were not that interested in Oldenburg

it lost its former importance

until it was ceded to Lower Saxony,

and a major rebuilding program

began to restore the city to its former glory.

Luckily for the town it avoided any major damage

in the Second World War,

and today is a growing tourist destination.

To the west is Bremen on the river Weser.

Even though the main port for the city moved

to Bremerhaven in the early 19th century,

it still remains open for smaller ships and barges

and is an important part of Bremen's industrial economy.

As a result, over a 60% of the city

was destroyed by Allied bombing

due to the significance of its docks and industry.

Until the formation of the German empire in 1871

the country consisted of 16 separate states,

with the free Hanseatic state of Bremen being the smallest.

Like many German cities it can trace its roots back

to well over 10,000 BC.

Though what we see today is the product

of building from the 17th century onwards,

and a great deal of restoration and rebuilding

after the war.

The medieval cathedral with its two towers

was badly damaged and took many decades to restore.

One of the few noted buildings to survive the war

is the early 15th century town hall,

and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The city's impressive railway station

is also a protected building and built in 1890.

Around the same time the old horse tramway gave way

to the first trials of the city's electric trams.

Today there are seven lines

covering well over 100 kilometers.

This is the river Elba and in the distance,

the second largest city in Germany, Hamburg.

It was the last of the German city-states

to join a united Germany.

In the last half of the 19th century

Hamburg experienced its fastest growth

when its population more than quadrupled to 800,000.

(bright music)

Wealth poured into the city as Hamburg gained

an international reputation.

And this is reflected in the many impressive buildings

in the city center.

Today that international character is still intact

as the city is an open, free cosmopolitan place

to live and visit.

Its culture ranges from opera, ballet, and concerts,

to clubs, bars, and the well known Reeperbahn

for more exotic entertainment.

It's estimated that every year around 250,000 people

visit Hamburg from 185 countries around the world.

The port is a truly impressive place,

especially as it is 60 kilometers upstream

from the mouth of the river Elba.

It covers a vast 74 square kilometers

and handles around 10 million containers a year.

There are 17 shipping terminals,

including three for cruise liners,

as Hamburg is one of Europe's largest ports of call.

It's therefore not surprising

that the city is often referred to

as the gateway to the world.

And just before we leave the city,

the question that many people want to know

is does the hamburger come from Hamburg?

The answer seems to be a sort of yes.

As thousands of German immigrants

left from these docks in the 19th century

for a new life in the United States

they, perhaps, would have taken with them the recipe

for Hamburg's Frikadellen, a pan-fried beef patty.

It was in America that the bun was added.

This is Luneburg Heath,

a large area of woodland and sandy soil,

covering around 440 square kilometers,

which was made into a nature reserve back in 1921.

But what makes the heath stand out

is the part it played in world events.

Because it was here on the 4th of May, 1945,

that the unconditional surrender of German forces

in the Netherlands, Northwest Germany, Denmark,

and all naval ships in this area was given to the Allies

under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.

This ended the Second World War in Europe.

And it's somewhere on Luneburg Heath

where the body of Heinrich Himmler,

a leading figure in Nazi Germany and head of the SS,

was secretly buried in an unmarked grave

following his suicide.

On the site of an old wildlife zoo

a small amusement park was opened in 1978

which offered six rides

and attracted around 200,000 visitors.

Today the numbers are over 1 1/2 million

and it's now one of the biggest amusement parks

in Northern Europe.

There are over 40 rides,

including roller coasters and water rides,

as well as the Scream, a 103 meter drop tower.

(bright music)

Other dramatic names include the Colossus

and Flight of the Demons.

The most recognizable landmark in the park is a 35 meter

1/3 scale replica of the Statue of Liberty in New York.

It was inaugurated on the 4th of July, 1986,

on the 100th anniversary of the unveiling

of the original one.

To the south is a stark reminder

of man's inhumanity to man,

the Nazi concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen.

From 1941 to 1945 almost 20,000 Soviet prisoners of war

and a further 50,000 inmates died here.

Overcrowding, lack of food, and poor sanitary conditions

caused outbreaks of typhus, tuberculosis,

typhoid fever, and dysentery,

leading to the deaths of more than 35,000 people

in the first few months of 1945,

shortly before and after the camps liberation.

It was also here in this dreadful and deeply moving place

that the tragic story of the young Dutch girl Anne Frank

ended with her death and that of her sister.

Celle is a very popular tourist destination

with its streets of timber framed houses and red roofs.

In the 14th century the wonderfully named

Duke Otto the Strict started to build the present town,

including the church.

It's laid out in a formal grid pattern

as it was not being built over an existing layout.

By the 15th century, Celle had grown in importance

as a trading center and the castle was enlarged

and fortified by the Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg.

The castle we see today is the result

of transforming the old Renaissance one

into a more comfortable house during the 17th century.

In 1704 it passed into the hands

of the electors of Hanover,

whose descendants would become kings of the United Kingdom,

beginning with King George I.

The castle also has a sad and tragic story,

as King George's young granddaughter Caroline Matilda,

who had married the mentally unstable

King Christian VII of Denmark,

was banished to Celle in 1772 as a result of her affair

with her husband's closest advisor.

The unhappy queen only lived here for three years

before she died of scarlet fever aged just 23.

This motorway leads us to our final location

on this journey, Hanover.

The city is the capital of the German state of Lower Saxony.

It was also the main residence of the electors of Hannover

and on the outskirts of the city is their summer palace.

And thanks to Sophia,

wife of the elector in the late 17th century,

one of the most important formal

Baroque gardens in Europe, Herrenhausen.

(bright orchestral music)

The creation of the great garden took three decades

from the late 17th century,

and is the life's work of the electress Sophia of Hanover.

Nothing was undertaken here

that was not at her express command.

In Holland, where she grew up,

she had developed an enthusiasm

for the Dutch style of ornamental gardens,

and on her travels in Italy she was inspired

by the extravagant Renaissance and Baroque designs.

In 1683 she commissioned an up and coming master gardener

to construct Herrenhausen to her wishes.

Rare plants were purchased in Holland and Hamburg.

Wagon loads of orange trees were delivered.

Renowned sculptors carved statues,

and the River Graft was diverted to fill the formal canals,

which frame the garden in the Dutch style.

The great garden became the setting

for the extravagant festivities of court society,

with Venetian masked balls

including gondola rides on the canal.

And it was here in the garden

that Czar Peter the Great of Russia danced with Sophia.

Herrenhausen survives virtually intact today

because in the 18th century

it was not destroyed by the fashion for landscaping,

an English style that swept across Europe.

In the 1930s the garden was bought by the city of Hanover

and restored after several years of neglect.

However, during the Second World War,

the palace was destroyed by incendiary bombs

and the garden badly damaged.

Once again, however, it rose from the ashes

to delight the thousands of visitors who come each year.

A perfect place to end this journey.

(flourishing orchestral music)

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