Synopsis
Trailer
Making-Of

Europe's Last Wild Horses
1 x 50 min
© 2011
Director/Producer/DP: Christian Baumeister
DP: Christian Baumeister, Michael Riegler, Alexander Sommer
Music: Oliver Heuss
Format: HD 1080
LIGHT & SHADOW for WDR, NDR Naturfilm, Off-the-Fence

Synopsis

Thundering hoofs, flowing manes. A primeval look! Yet we are not in the savannas of East Africa, but in the middle of Germany. The “Muensterland” is home of the last free-living herd of wild horses in Europe.

Horses are already present on earth for 60 million years, yet today we know them primarily as riding animals. Here in the heart of Europe, however, they still live freely and unbound, like millenniums ago. In an area protected since the 19th century by Duke von Croÿ, a unique time window opens into evolutionary history. Here, the natural behaviour of wild horses can be observed unrestrictedly.

However, the “Muensterland” offers more than wild horses. Its characteristic parkland with a mosaic of small forests, fields, meadows and moors is home of numerous wild animals.

In spring, the European curlew calls longingly in the marshland, and male moor frogs fade to blue for mating. The kingfisher hunts in crystal clear creeks. Wild boars race through the autumnal forest. Thousands of bats spend the winter in dark caves of the mountainside. Flamingos of Europe’s northernmost colony display a colourful mating dance.

Wildlife which not everybody would assume in the heart of Germany. In atmospheric pictures, the film follows the wild creatures of the “Muensterland” and is at the same time a look into the past, into a time when true wilderness ruled.

Trailer

Making-of