Oldies But Goldies

Trees are true lords of the rings - living monuments that provide a window into the past. This film crisscrosses Germany in search of the country's oldest trees. Among all creatures living on land, trees can reach the greatest age. They remain rooted to the same spot for hundreds of years. Innumerable animals live on and from old trees. From the coasts of the North Sea to the Alps, the film is a journey to those magnificent creatures all over Germany. The seed of a poisonous veteran yew tree germinated before the German Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossa was born, and before king Henry I began his reign over England. Back in the old days, a group of trees called the 1000-year oaks were used as so called court and gallow oaks. Yet when biologists took a closer look, the trees turned out to be a mere 700 years old. When a old tree reaches the end of its life cycle, each one of them has produced millions of seeds. Their modern descendants rely on man. It is up to us humans to give old survivors sufficient space and a good climate in which they can grow old.