Wild Germany

The Bavarian Forest

The fifth part of the series portrays the Bavarian Forest on the border with the Czech Republic. The documentation shows how a catastrophe came about in the former commercial forest, which became known as the forest dieback. It demonstrates how the "jungle of tomorrow" is growing out of it today, how perfectly growth, growth and decay intertwine here and why the bark beetle that once triggered the catastrophe did not become a gravedigger but an obstetrician. When the number of bark beetles in the Bavarian Forest National Park increased to an exceptionally high rate in the 1980s, the national park administration deliberately failed to combat them, this had far-reaching consequences. Within a few years, several thousand hectares of old, formerly economically used spruce stands died in the high altitudes. Apocalyptic scenarios presented themselves to the visitor.