Wilde Karpaten - Europas Urwälder

In Central Europe, only a few original forest areas - mostly in mountainous regions that are difficult to access - have escaped deforestation. One example is the Carpathians. Trees up to 40 meters high and 400 years old stand in the largest contiguous primeval beech forest in Europe. And wolves and bears are still at home here today. Its isolated location on inaccessible mountain slopes has allowed the primeval forest in Romania to survive to this day. This is because old trees are also cleared in more easily accessible places and sold as construction and firewood. On his inspection tour in Semenic National Park, Mihai Zotta from the National Forestry Agency meets forestry workers and rangers, as well as a water smuggler who has lived in the primeval forest with his wife for 15 years and is responsible for supplying water to the valley. The couple lives without electricity in the midst of Carpathian nature - in close proximity to bears, wolves and other wild animals. In the untouched virgin forests of the Carpathians, large and small animals find enough food. And because old fallen trees are simply left lying around, they provide sufficient shelter. Microorganisms and fungi decompose the wood into humus. The perfect natural cycle has been functioning in the primeval forest of the Carpathians for centuries. Tracker Hermann Kurmes succeeds in making a very special kind of observation: at a distance of only 200 meters, young bears are playing in the morning sun - a not entirely harmless experience even for the experienced animal observer. In Central Europe, only a few original forest areas - mostly in mountain regions that are difficult to access - have escaped deforestation. One example is the Carpathians. Trees up to 40 meters high and 400 years old stand in the largest contiguous primeval beech forest in Europe. And wolves and bears are still at home here today. The largest primeval beech forest in Europe stretches along the Romanian Carpathians. Here there are trees that reach up to 45 meters into the sky and are estimated to be 400 years old. Its isolated location on inaccessible mountain slopes has allowed the primeval forest in Romania to survive to this day. This is because old trees are also cleared in more easily accessible places and sold as construction and firewood. In the untouched virgin forests of the Carpathians, large and small animals find enough food. And because old fallen trees are simply left lying, they provide sufficient shelter. Microorganisms and fungi decompose the wood into humus. The perfect natural cycle has been functioning in the primeval forest of the Carpathians for centuries. They still exist, the last green paradises of Europe - pristine forests where man has not yet penetrated. The five-part series takes viewers on a journey of discovery to the secrets of Europe's primeval forests with their unique flora and fauna, their myths and their fairytale beauty.