Original subtitles

[Narrator] These are the engineering wonders of Germany,

their secrets revealed in a way never seen before.

Visionaries shaped this land into the crossroads of Europe,

constructing groundbreaking waterways,

world-beating machines and pioneering structures.

Today, German engineers continue this legacy

with record-breaking infrastructure projects

and spectacular innovations.

In this series, we reveal the secrets of the engineering

that built Europe's great nations,

the wonders that shape its cities,

landscapes and history.

We reveal the astonishing innovations

and surprising connections

that helped to forge this mighty continent.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Germany is located in the heart of Europe.

It's surrounded by

nine countries

and stretches from the Alps

in the south

to the North and Baltic Seas.

Over the centuries, Germany's central location

has brought wealth and prosperity.

Today, its broad rivers and canals connect European markets

for cars, heavy machinery and electrical parts.

Its engineers built a vast rail network

and one of the world's largest superhighway systems,

the Autobahn.

♪ ♪

German engineers are also famed

for record-breaking monster machines.

The largest terrestrial vehicle ever built

is a German-made bucket-wheel excavator.

And the dramatic Zugspitze aerial tramway in the Alps

has the longest climb of any cable car in the world.

Now, in Munich,

an innovative new project

takes engineering to a whole new level.

♪ ♪

This is Europe’s largest and most innovative surf park.

♪ ♪

This incredible high-tech pool took over two years to build,

and it runs on a system called Endless Surf

which uses compressed air

instead of paddles or plows to generate waves.

The powerful wave generator can create a custom wave

every 10 seconds, replicating natural wave patterns

and achieving heights of up to 2.2 meters.

Solar energy powers almost all of the machinery.

This wonder of pneumatic engineering creates waves

so accurate to nature that Olympians use it

to help them train in the heart of mainland Europe.

Chris Boehm-Tettelbach is the park’s founder.

[Chris Boehm-Tettelbach] We had about 60 architects and planners

to create this place,

because something like this has never been built before.

[Narrator] The secret to the park's miracle waves

lies hidden on the edge of the pool.

34 water-filled chambers

fitted with high-powered air pumps.

They blast pressurized air into curved channels

and then release it

to push and pull on a column of water

which generates waves in the pool.

Together, the pumps can shift

up to 10,000 cubic meters of water every second.

The park is coming out of a four-week winter break.

Crewmembers are working flat out

to ensure that everything is ready for the new season ahead.

Chief Surfing Officer Michi Mohr and colleague Till

are gearing up for the most crucial test of all:

the pneumatic wave generator.

[Michi Mohr] Maybe I'm the only one in the world

that has the title Chief Surfing Officer,

but basically I'm in charge of all the surf experience here,

and so obviously now comes the fun part,

testing those waves that we created.

[Narrator] The team operates the waves

from a control tower above the pool.

[Michi] Ranja?

[speaks German]

♪ ♪

[Narrator] The operator can generate

seven different preset patterns

from beginner waves to expert level barrels.

♪ ♪

They start with the beginner wave settings

and then ride progressively bigger patterns

to check for wave height and pacing.

♪ ♪

Michi then checks the full expert settings.

The wave quickly powers up to a height of over two meters.

Carrying Michi across the entire length of the pool.

[Michi] The pressure, the steepness of the wave

felt really good.

So we were really pleased with the result.

So I think everyone will be really stoked

to get into the new season.

[Narrator] With their tests complete, the park opens

and quickly fills up with surf fans from across the globe,

eager to try out

this one-of-a-kind engineering wonder.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Throughout history, German engineers have broken ground

on some of Europe’s greatest infrastructure projects.

German engineers have pioneered travel by rail,

inventing the diesel engine and the first electric tramway.

In Wuppertal, they built the world's first

electric suspension public railway

at the turn of the 20th century.

And in the 1980s, a German high-speed train

set a world speed record of over 405 kilometers per hour.

Back in Munich, engineers are creating

a new record-breaking railway station

with an extraordinary twist.

This is the construction site of Marienhof station.

It's part of Munich's brand new rapid commuter line

and the deepest station ever built in Germany.

The scale of the project is unprecedented for the city.

Engineers need to dig down over 40 meters to excavate tunnels

beneath the city’s existing subterranean metro lines.

The entire project is set to cost nearly 11 billion euros,

and the underground station itself will be enormous.

Johannes Jessen is a senior project engineer on the site.

[Johannes Jessen, translated] We’re building a cathedral underground here,

at least in terms of the sheer amount of earth we’re moving.

That’s 185,000 cubic meters.

[Narrator] The deeper the team here dig,

the greater the challenge.

Water saturates the soil, which could swamp machinery

or cause the excavation to cave in.

To deal with the wet ground under Munich,

The team must cast massive concrete walls

deep into the ground.

Then they remove the earth inside, layer by layer,

40 meters down,

to build the backbone of the station.

But now, as they dig their first tunnel,

they must venture outside the concrete box.

To avoid groundwater flooding in,

they must seal off the tunnel

and use compressed air to push back the water.

♪ ♪

For the tunnel builders, that means stepping through

a high-pressure air lock each morning just to get to work.

It’s a scene straight out of sci-fi.

The air pressure inside the tunnel

can be up to twice the pressure of the air outside.

Similar to the pressure a diver feels

five to 10 meters underwater.

[Narrator] Tools and even heavy machinery

must also enter the tunnel via the pressure lock.

♪ ♪

[Marcin Russek, translated] Air enters the chamber

through these flaps.

It's fed through compressors at 0.5 bar

so that we can work here.

[Narrator] To combat the risk of diesel fumes

poisoning the pressurized tunnel,

all the heavy machinery used on site is electric.

[Marcin] It's the first time I've worked

on a construction site where all of the devices are electrical.

And I’m really impressed by how the electric machines work.

[Narrator] Marienhof station is designed to be the hub

of a new rapid commuter line that connects Munich's center

with its sprawling suburbs,

but 16 train and metro lines already cross below the city,

transporting over one million passengers a day.

So the new line has to be dug even deeper

to avoid these existing underground lines.

As each tunneling shift ends,

the team must depressurize for around 10 minutes

before they head home for the day.

[Marcin] When you get out of the pressure zone,

it's simply a relief,

because you're happy to see daylight again

and have completed the work.

[Narrator] It’s slow progress.

Working this way means the team completes

a maximum of two meters of tunnel a day.

But once finished, this landmark station and line

will play a vital role, easing the burden

on the city’s busy transport system for generations to come.

♪ ♪

German engineers are pioneers of aviation,

creating the first practical helicopter

and the first airline.

Today, ingenious taxiway bridges carry aircraft

over the Autobahn to help

the country's busy airports to grow.

The Heligoland Archipelago is home

to perhaps Germany’s most dramatic airport.

Three runways here stretch across a small

850-meter-wide island of sand

in the middle of the North Sea.

In Frankfurt am Main, engineers are expanding an airport

to make it fit for 21st century air travel.

♪ ♪

Frankfurt Airport is the busiest

aviation hub in Germany.

Around 1,200 flights take off and land here every day,

moving over 60 million passengers a year.

Now, behind the scenes,

a massive transformation is under way.

Engineers are building a brand new terminal.

It's one of Europe's largest infrastructure projects,

with a construction site the size of 25 football pitches.

Once complete, passengers will reach the terminal

via an autonomous Skyline train.

The terminal has a vast check-in hall

and four massive concourses,

equipped to service a minimum of 33 aircraft at once.

It will boost capacity

by an additional 25 million passengers annually.

Building this record-breaking structure is no simple task.

[Narrator] The biggest challenge for the project's engineers,

like Alexander Betz, is keeping planes flying

while this transformation takes place.

[Alexander Betz, translated] It is very challenging.

We’re in the middle of the operational area.

So, the airplanes roll around our construction site.

[Narrator] It's critical that no construction dust

blows onto the live runways.

This could cloud the pilots' vision,

or even worse, damage the aircraft engines.

[Alexander] We have to make sure that we don't stir up dust here

that blows onto the runway or into an aeroplane.

[Narrator] The airport sits on a vast, flat plain

that's waterlogged,

which makes building the new terminal here

even more difficult.

To lay the foundations,

engineers have to dig up to 11 meters deep.

But groundwater rushes in as they excavate,

flooding the pit.

They have to work with divers to help pour

nearly 40,000 cubic meters of concrete to stabilize the site.

Then pump out the groundwater,

clearing the way for construction to begin.

♪ ♪

It takes three years to erect the walls

of the terminal building.

Construction space on site is limited,

so the team have to divide its enormous 10,000-ton roof,

the size of two and a half football fields,

into five sections, and use a hydraulic platform

to carefully slide them into place.

♪ ♪

The new terminal is set to redefine airport innovation.

♪ ♪

A pioneering system will capture the heat generated

by the baggage handling system

and the thousands of daily passengers

and redistribute it to warm the building.

At its core are central heating and cooling plants,

hidden below the main terminal hall.

They connect to the entire building

via a network of pipes.

A large array of solar panels will cover the roof,

enabling the terminal to generate its energy needs

largely from sustainable sources.

[Worker] Stop!

[Narrator] After 10 years of construction,

the new terminal will welcome its first passengers

as Europe's most advanced airport

finally opens its doors.

Over the centuries, German engineers have developed

innovative ways for people to traverse its rivers.

The double-decker Oberbaum Bridge in Berlin

opened in 1896.

The Mungstener steel bridge in Solingen

is the highest railway bridge in Germany,

and the Magdeburg Water Bridge is the world's longest

navigable aqueduct, and passes over the River Elbe.

Now, a new crossing taking shape on the River Ems

is set to be a record-breaking engineering wonder.

[Narrator] This is the construction site

of the Friesen Rail Bridge.

When complete, this brand new artery will carry a train link

to the Netherlands

and also swing open to allow ships to pass through

on their way to the nearby North Sea.

[horn blows]

Measuring 337 meters long, the new Friesen Bridge will be

the largest lift-swing bridge ever constructed in Europe.

At its heart is a hydraulic system

with six lifting cylinders

that raise the 1,800-ton movable span.

Eight hydraulic motors then swivel it 90 degrees,

allowing ships up to 50 meters wide to pass through.

The most challenging part of the bridge's construction

is the installation of the enormous

145-meter-long swinging span.

It is built from steel and has been shipped to site

on giant floating pontoons

ready to anchor it into position.

Right now, ties secure it to the riverside.

The team needs to wait until high tide

for the water to raise the bridge

to the correct height for installation.

High tide tonight arrives after dark.

Stefan Schwede is the lead engineer

on this high-stakes nighttime operation.

[Stefan Schwede] There are many people involved,

and they all have to know what to do

and to really work as a team

and be motivated over the whole time,

and that would be long, because we have an operation

that takes probably eight to 12 hours.

[Narrator] The team's first task is to battle the currents

to rotate the two pontoons 90 degrees.

They use steel cables and winches to turn the barges.

It's no simple task to keep the 1,800-ton bridge section

balanced and centered.

[Stefan] The most challenging thing is that we have to do

all operations at the same time,

and they have to be synchronized.

Therefore, we have to do it very slowly, but constant,

and that will be the challenge.

[Narrator] It takes a nerve-racking two hours

to rotate the large span.

The next step is to carefully line the bridge up

with its final resting place.

[Narrator] The team uses four winches to haul the pontoons

close to the drop zone.

[Kees Kompier] The dark makes it slightly difficult

to see everything, but we are moving very smoothly

and controlled at the moment.

So far, so good.

[Narrator] Then, they use remote-controlled trailers

to move the segment the final 19 meters.

The operators on either side must stay in constant contact

to move the trailers at the same pace.

[Kees] In the end, we need to position the bridge

very accurate in the middle.

That’s very critical.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Narrator] It takes another two hours for the team

to slowly inch the freezing bridge to its fixing point.

Now they pump water into the pontoons

to make them sink

and lower the load.

[Narrator] After a long and challenging night...

[Stefan] Whew! Yeah. That's it.

[Narrator] ...the moving span of Europe's largest

lift-swing railway bridge is finally in place.

[Stefan] Well.

[Narrator] The team is exhausted,

but it’s a triumphant moment.

The next step is to test the swing mechanism.

Then they can look forward to the end of the project,

when the bridge is put into action,

carrying trains to and from Germany,

and swinging open to give passage to giant cruise ships.

[horn blows]

Germany's position at the crossroads of Europe

has not only fueled innovative infrastructure projects,

but has also driven breakthroughs

in megascale architecture.

German engineering is responsible

for many of the world’s tallest churches.

Cologne's twin-spired cathedral reaches a dizzying height

of 157 meters,

and St. Nicholas' Church in Hamburg

stretches to around 147 meters.

The city of Ulm in southern Germany

is home to the tallest spire of them all.

[Narrator] This is Ulm Minster, the world’s tallest church.

Its steeple soars an astonishing 161.5 meters high,

making it over 20 meters taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza.

When work started on the Minster back in 1377,

it was designed to hold a congregation that was larger

than the population of the town itself.

The funds to build it were raised by the people of Ulm

to put their town on the map.

Little did they know their creation would be

a record-breaker over 600 years later.

Today, it's covered in scaffolding,

because an extraordinary engineering rescue is underway.

♪ ♪

Aaron Weisser has been overseeing essential work

on the church’s main spire for three years.

[Aaron Weisser, translated] So, the special thing

about the Minster is that it catches everybody's eye,

no matter which direction you drive from.

That’s why they built it as high as they could.

[Narrator] The main structure of the church is made from brick,

topped with a lace-like skeleton

of finely carved sandstone.

This stonework is the focus of the current renovations.

Deep inside the pillars lie iron dowels

that hold the sections of stone together.

But over time, the iron can rust and expand...

[cracking]

...threatening to crack the stone

they were designed to support.

Aaron's task is to replace the old iron

with a new core of non-corrosive stainless steel.

♪ ♪

Today, the team is attempting to remove an iron dowel

that sits a dizzying 66 meters up the spire.

They mark accurate cut lines using a laser.

♪ ♪

And chip out a section of stone, exposing the iron dowel.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Finally, they use a chainsaw to sever the dowel at the top.

[Aaron] Because the dowels are relatively large,

we need a lot of saw blades so that it comes out cleanly

and there’s no movement in the top.

We want to lose as little stone as possible

and preserve as much of the old as we can.

[Narrator] Workers can now remove the whole piece.

And Aaron drills out the remains

of the over-600-year-old upper dowel.

The team sets off on a vertiginous trip

down to the site’s workshop.

♪ ♪

In the workshop, Aaron begins the restoration.

First, he adds new stone to replace the section

he chipped away, and his team prepares the cornice

that the restored stonework will sit on.

Then he drills a hole for the new metal dowel.

They haul the stonework back up the tower.

Inside, it has a new dowel

suspended on the end of a string.

They carefully line up the holes

and lower the new dowel into place.

Now the junction must be made watertight.

They line it with a layer of molding clay

and then pour in molten lead,

just as the original builders did centuries ago.

♪ ♪

The metal cools to reveal a shiny new joint,

and the team celebrate another perfect repair.

[Aaron] I’m very satisfied.

We’ve completely achieved our goal.

It's a very beautiful Gothic building,

and that’s what the Minster is all about, the character.

♪ ♪

[Narrator] The invention of the automobile by German engineer

Karl Benz in 1886 changed the world.

Today, Germany is still the biggest

producer of cars in Europe.

Volkswagen's plant in Wolfsburg is one of the largest

car factories in the world.

In Munich, there's one car manufacturer that's engineering

their megascale factory to new limits.

This factory, in the heart of Munich,

is home to the Bavarian Motor Works,

or BMW for short.

The workforce here has been producing

high-performance motorcycles and cars for over 100 years.

Around 1,000 vehicles roll off the production line every day.

This plant is a manufacturing powerhouse

packed with cutting-edge technology,

from 1,200 high-precision robots

to pioneering autonomous systems.

Now, BMW is embarking on an astonishing challenge.

Engineers here are knocking down outdated buildings

and replacing them with state-of-the-art

production lines for electric cars.

They're racing against the clock

to get the new lines up and running in record time.

[Mohan Noronha] This project is absolutely historic

in the history of Munich.

[Narrator] Mohan Noronha leads this complex operation.

[Mohan] Shutting down the plant is no option,

so we have to keep the plant at a steady state,

producing full capacity,

and at the same time building up the new facility.

[Narrator] But keeping this complex project moving

creates massive logistical problems.

[Narrator] A fleet of heavy-duty trucks

delivers up to 70 segments

to the BMW construction site

each day with clockwork precision.

[Fabian Weichselgartner, translated] All delivery trucks

that enter the site are timed via a digital system.

[Narrator] Each truck is precisely scheduled to enter

and leave the construction site within just 60 minutes.

This is critical to avoid disrupting

around 800 daily deliveries to the production line.

[Fabian] This construction site is a massive

logistical challenge for us.

[Narrator] Once delivered to site,

the team immediately hooks the modules

to the 10 cranes in operation, ready for liftoff.

[Fabian] We have about 7,200 parts that we need to install

in the largest hall here.

[Narrator] The team here aren’t just fighting against time.

They’re also fighting space.

With little room to maneuver,

they use a compact crawler crane

to help build in this tight spot.

It has steel tracks and a low center of gravity

that allow it to lift materials

and access confined spaces

that larger fixed cranes can’t reach.

[Operator] It's one of the toughest sites

which I ever worked.

Check my left side before I’m swinging.

Check my left side.

Here, before you touch the joystick,

you have to watch twice,

because there is plenty of every machine.

So you have to be careful about every move.

[Narrator] The team has just millimeters of space

to play with.

[Operator] Not enough, slow.

[Narrator] ...to slot each beam into position.

[Operator] Okay.

[Narrator] Finally, the beam is in place.

[Worker] Stop.

[Narrator] They then quickly anchor it

to the rest of the structure.

So far, workers have already completed

two of the new production buildings.

If they keep up this pace, the new Munich factory complex

will be completed in just 18 months,

safeguarding Germany's iconic car manufacturer

for the future.

Germany has not only led the way

with large-scale architecture and infrastructure projects,

but is also home to some of the world's

most remarkable machines.

Germany is one of Europe's largest centers for logistics,

and it’s driven by mega-scale machines.

Hamburg is equipped with Europe's largest rail port,

handling around 200 freight trains a day.

And Duisburg, the largest inland port in the world,

uses high-tech cranes to distribute goods

across the nation’s vast network of rivers and canals.

In Brunsbuttel, on the north coast,

a series of vast machines keep Germany's

most critical artificial waterway moving.

♪ ♪

This is the Brunsbuttel lock complex,

one of Germany’s largest ship locks.

For over 110 years, it's provided safe passage for ships

traveling between the tidal River Elbe

and the world's busiest artificial waterway,

the Kiel Canal.

The canal provides a vital shortcut

between the North and Baltic Seas

and handles over 100 seagoing vessels every day

through its four enormous lock chambers.

Now, as part of a massive modernization project,

the facility is about to get a brand new lock.

♪ ♪

In the heart of the Brunsbuttel complex,

a monumental new lock chamber is taking shape.

It is longer than three football fields,

with gates that are seven stories tall

and weigh over 2,000 tons.

[horn blows]

The chamber can hold up to four large ships at a time.

To move them to the level of the River Elbe,

which changes with the tide throughout the day,

the chamber either floods with water to lift them up

or it releases water to lower them down.

All in just 45 minutes,

so they can quickly continue their voyage.

♪ ♪

[Narrator] Civil engineer Annemarie Brandt

spearheads the project.

[Annemarie Brandt, translated] A lock chamber of this size

is unique.

You only build something like this once in a lifetime.

[Narrator] One of the team's biggest challenges

is the location of the construction site.

It sits on an island right between

the busy existing lock chambers.

A ferry has to do 20 trips a day to drop off trucks

carrying building materials and equipment.

Right now, to construct the massive interior walls

of the chamber, they need over 6,000 cubic meters of concrete.

[Narrator] The Brunsbuttel island's

on-site concrete factory

mixes the raw ingredients delivered from shore.

[Lasse Eichert, translated] The types of concrete that

we use here were all specially manufactured or tested

just for this construction site.

[Narrator] The chamber's walls will be exposed to the elements

all year round, so the concrete mix

must contain tiny air bubbles to allow it to expand

without cracking when it freezes.

The team must test each batch

to check it has the right volume of bubbles.

This batch passes the test, and they begin to pour.

[Lasse] The section we are concreting today

is 27 meters long and holds 120 cubic meters of concrete.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Narrator] It takes 10 hours for them to complete this section.

They insulate the concrete

to help it cure in the cold overnight.

It will take around 15 more concrete pours like this

to complete the chamber.

The team is on track to finish the new lock,

ready for a grand opening in two years' time,

upgrading this historic engineering wonder

for the 21st century.

♪ ♪

Germany's rugged and mountainous landscape

was shaped over millions of years.

Across the centuries, its engineers have devised

innovative ways to keep vital transport routes connected.

The historic Oberjoch Pass in the German Alps

was built in the 16th century to transport salt from Austria.

The Goltzsch Viaduct helped connect Saxony and Bavaria

during the 19th century

and is the largest brick-built bridge in the world.

Outside Berlin, there's a unique site

that boasts not one, but two engineering wonders.

These two extraordinary machines are ship lifts:

supersized elevators that raise and lower huge vessels.

They shuttle ships up and down between the old Oder River

and the Oder-Havel Canal.

The two waterways act as a key link between Berlin

and the Baltic Sea,

but are separated by a 36-meter vertical gap.

The first lift here was opened in 1934,

and in 2022, engineers added a second,

next-generation elevator to boost capacity.

Vast concrete slabs counterbalance

the nearly 10,000-ton lifting trough,

which can move everything from river cruisers to cargo ships

up to 110 meters long.

The trough always weighs the same,

no matter how heavy the ship is.

This is because each ship displaces

exactly as much water as it weighs.

Marco Richlowski is one of the operators

in charge of running the new 500 million-euro megalift.

[Marco Richlowski, translated] I'm on my way to

the control desk, which is at the very top of the ship lift.

From there, everything that has to do with the new ship lift

is controlled and directed.

[Narrator] The team operates the high-tech machine

from a control tower directly above the trough.

When a ship sails into the lift from the upper canal,

Marco activates the partition wall to seal off the trough.

Then the machinery fires up.

♪ ♪

Eight electric motors set

the nearly 10,000-ton trough in motion.

Then the 14 sets of concrete counterweights take over.

As the counterweights move up,

they control the descent of the massive water-filled basin.

Thanks to this counterweight technology,

the lift can move a 2,300-ton ship

using the minimum of electrical energy.

And the system works the same

no matter how big or small the vessel.

♪ ♪

It takes less than five minutes to lower.

The operator drops the partition wall

so the boat can set sail in the lower waterway.

[Marco] The structure is undoubtedly

an engineering achievement.

It’s nice to operate such a system.

We're talking about 10,000 tons

that I drive back and forth here.

[Narrator] The original elevator here is still in use.

Unlike its modern concrete neighbor,

the 1930s lift is constructed

from 14,000 tons of steel latticework.

It was opened five years before the outbreak of World War II,

and although the area saw heavy fighting,

it survived largely intact,

and now, in high season, the two lifts move around 60 ships

between the two waterways every day.

Thanks to these twin marvels of maritime engineering,

traffic continues to flow on this essential waterway

between Berlin and the Baltic Sea.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Throughout history, engineering prowess

has been instrumental in connecting Germany

to its neighbors.

Today, this nation at the crossroads of the continent

continues to drive innovation and connectivity across Europe.