Watch ORF Universum Documentaries Season 1
Episode 107
Sudan - the Nubian Caravans
aired: Tue, Apr 24, 2001
Sudan, the biggest country in Africa. In the south the Nile with its feeder rivers dominates an almost impenetrable swamp landscape.
Episode 106
Typhoon Island - Taiwan
aired: Fri, Aug 20, 2004
The spectacular island of Taiwan has long been buffeted by violent elemental forces, and a recent hurricane of human development has rocked it to its core.
Episode 105
Sahara - the English Patient's Desert
aired: Fri, Jul 19, 2002
The Sahara, one of the world's most extreme, hostile regions, is the paragon of a desert.
Episode 104
O2 - a Molecule That Made Our World
aired: Mon, Mar 10, 2008
Using latest CGI combined with live-action reconstructions, this film follows the journey of a molecule of oxygen, an adventure that takes place over a span of thousands of millions of years.
Episode 103
Tales from the Vienna Woods
aired: Sat, Oct 30, 1999
Vienna is the world's only metropolis with a large, continuous forest area in its immediate vicinity - the Vienna Woods, an area blessed with an unexpected wealth of animal and plant life.
Episode 102
Link With the Lynx
aired: Thu, Jun 17, 2010
With large tufted ears, a short tail and a trusting look, one could almost believe that lynxes are just big cats.
Episode 100
Return of the Bald Ibis
aired: Tue, Jun 12, 2007
Four years ago a group of zoologists ventured out to indulge into a truly crazy adventure.
Episode 99
Iceland: Realm of the Gods
aired: Thu, May 27, 1999
The oldest path of mankind is one that combines legend and reality. In Iceland more so than anywhere else, natural forces have formed both the landscape and the fantasy of its people.
Episode 98
Yucatan: In the Kingdom of the Jaguar God
aired: Fri, Nov 18, 2005
The Central American peninsula of Yucatan is famous for its fascinating wildlife and exotic flora and fauna.
Episode 97
Arlberg: the Hidden Paradise
aired: Mon, Sep 13, 2010
Snow masses pile up in abundance on the deep snow-covered slopes. The wind has created bizarre snowdrifts on the steep mountain ridges, and further below, the Swiss pine carry the weight of this sparkling splendor.
Episode 96
Alpine Meltdown
aired: Mon, Jul 11, 2011
The climate is changing. According to predictions of climatologists, within 100 years it will be around 5 to 8 degrees C warmer in the alpine region than today.
Episode 95
Silverado
aired: Fri, Mar 19, 2010
Two places and one mountain in the Austrian province of Tyrol changed the world.
Episode 94
Secrets of the Flooded Forest: Danube National Park
aired: Sun, Aug 1, 2010
After beginning in Vienna, the Danube riverbank forests extend to the gates of Bratislava, linking the two capitals like a green ribbon, forming a unique wildlife habitat in the heart of Europe.
Episode 93
Secrets of the Adriatic
aired: Mon, Jul 14, 2003
For a long time, the Adriatic Sea used to be Central Europe's only link to the orient.
Episode 92
Tiger and Monk
aired: Thu, May 17, 2007
Wat Pa Luangta Bua is a monastery of meditation, situated far away from any civilization, about 200 kilometers west of Bangkok, and here, silcence, peace and harmony reign.
Episode 91
Vienna's Forests
aired: Sat, Sep 24, 2005
Vienna?s forests make a visual impact on the city?s scenery ? being a source of life and sanctuary at the same time.
Episode 90
Wild Balkans
aired: Mon, Oct 12, 2009
Wolves hunt their prey in the valleys between high-ranging dunes, bears and lynxes wander through dense primeval forest, and the big lakes are a magnet for hundreds of bird species.
Episode 89
Puszta - Land of Salt and Sand
aired: Fri, Aug 23, 2002
Less than an hour's drive south of Hungary's capital Budapest, Central Europe's last and only wandering sand dunes surprise the traveller.
Episode 88
Nature Tech, Part 3
aired: Wed, May 3, 2006
Nature has to be efficient in the way it processes information and uses energy so when scientists began to look at nature with biomimetic eyes, it's not surprising that they started to see entirely new visions for our future.
Episode 87
Nature Tech, Part 2
aired: Thu, Apr 27, 2006
Nature invented a whole range of hi-tec materials long before we invented ceramics and plastics. And not only are they often better, but nature has also invented ingenious ways of building with them.
Episode 86
Nature Tech, Part 1
aired: Thu, Apr 20, 2006
Most animals, and even a few plants, move. They swim, walk, run or fly in a wide range of ways, and in this programme we look at how designers of planes, cars and robots have found inspiration in nature.
Episode 85
Time Limits
aired: Thu, Jun 14, 2007
We perceive time in terms of seconds - the length of a heartbeat.
Episode 84
Pielach: The Enchanted Valley
aired: Thu, Aug 17, 2006
The Pielach, with a length of 67.5 km, is a little known river at the foothills of the Alps. Though biologically speaking, flowing through hidden natural treasures, it is one of Austria's most valuable running waters.
Episode 83
Vienna's Water
aired: Wed, May 19, 2010
The city of Vienna is world famous for its position on the River Danube.
Episode 82
Mountains in The Sun
aired: Mon, Nov 3, 2008
The landscape of southern Lower Austria is characterised by the last undulations of the Alps.
Episode 81
Limits of Perception
aired: Tue, May 15, 2001
More than 800 years ago, work started on a magnificent cathedral in Vienna.
Episode 80
The Four Alps
aired: Mon, Jul 2, 2007
For as long as there has been human memory we have been fascinated by mountains.
Episode 79
High Tatras: A Wilderness Frozen in Time
aired: Tue, Dec 4, 2007
The High Tatras are considered a National Park in Slovakia.
Episode 78
The Four Alps
aired: Tue, Aug 5, 2003
Vienna's Danube Island, a river island artificially created some 20 years ago, has become a recreational retreat for tens of thousands of city dwellers.
Episode 77
The Isle
aired: Tue, Aug 5, 2003
The Austrian region of Hallstatt-Dachstein features breathtaking landscapes, crystal clear lakes and a deep historic relevance.
Episode 76
Land of Crystal Waters
aired: Thu, Feb 14, 2008
In the very heart of Europe, precisely in the center of Austria, lies one of the most marvellous spots of the Alps: a woodland, water and mountain wilderness that shuns no comparison.
Episode 75
In Bed With Wolves: Part 3
aired: Fri, Aug 6, 2010
What is the difference between the domestic dog and the wolf if both of them have been raised under the same conditions?
Episode 74
In Bed With Wolves: Part 2
aired: Tue, Jul 27, 2010
What is the difference between the domestic dog and the wolf if both of them have been raised under the same conditions?
Episode 73
Teaming up With Wolves: Part 1
aired: Tue, Jun 15, 2010
What is the difference between the domestic dog and the wolf if both of them have been raised under the same conditions? Researchers Friederike Range, Zsofia Viranyi and Professor Kurt Kotrschal have taken up the task of raising a pack of wolves by hand.
Episode 72
Bohemian Forest - Wilderness in the Heart of Europe
aired: Sat, Feb 19, 2000
The Bohemian Forest is a region in the heart of Europe that is as typical of Europe as possible.
Episode 71
The Black Mountain
aired: Fri, Aug 18, 2000
When cloud banks swallow the rock and make valleys disappear, the sky draws menacingly close.Then, the sun tears away that curtain and jagged rocks appear, an iron cross gracing their peak.
Episode 70
Night of the Salamander
aired: Mon, Jan 1, 2001
To enter the exotic unfamiliar world of salamanders, it's often just a short trip down the road.
Episode 69
Land of a Thousand Vineyards
aired: Wed, Oct 7, 2009
Italy, California and South Africa are not the only places famous for their wines. Right in the heart of Europe, Austria can also look back over a past suffused with music and wine, both of which remain inseparably linked to this day.
Episode 68
The Living Graveyard
aired: Fri, Apr 8, 2005
Anyone who dares to visit this sinister place at night needs strong nerves. The world of the dead shows great signs of life: martens lurk behind gravestones, bats hunt in the dim moonlight, and wild cats scuffle between grave candles.
Episode 67
Afghanistan: The Lost Mines of the Pharaohs
aired: Sat, Mar 23, 2002
Afghanistan isone of the most remote and dangerous countries in the world. Yet for the last 20 years, through the turmoil of Russian invasion, retaliation, civil war and religious jihad, an American has traveled the country in search of precious stones.
Episode 66
The Valley at the Border
aired: Mon, Feb 14, 2000
The Thaya River flows quietly through the deep incision of the valley, that in winter, frequently sees only a few minutes of the warming rays from the low-lying sun.
Episode 65
Blue Danube, Black Sea
aired: Sun, Jun 7, 1998
The delta of the river Danube is Europe's best kept secret. The place is vast; the 5,640 square km of lakes, channels and reeds are home to a huge array of animals.
Episode 64
The Iron Forest
aired: Wed, Mar 25, 1998
The youngest of Austria's national parks is also the country's biggest continuous forest area. Ten million trees make the labyrinthine, fissured karst formations of the Reichraming and Sensen mountain ranges an endless green wilderness.
Episode 63
Libyan Sahara: Water from the Desert
aired: Mon, Oct 29, 2001
"Bahr Belá Má'", "Waterless Sea ", as the world's largest tropical desert is called by the Beduins: giant waves and treacherous sand banks, barely navigable in some areas, storm-swept - and bone-dry.
Episode 62
The Otter's Trail
aired: Wed, Nov 11, 1998
During the mid-80s, zoologists still regarded the European otter as a species on the verge of extinction. What they did not take into consideration was the fact that the shy aquatic animals are extremely adaptable.
Episode 61
Carnuntum: Metropolis in the Land of the Barbarians
aired: Sat, May 27, 2006
According to accounts by the Roman historian Paterculus, in the year 6 A.D. a Roman army under Tiberius put up its winter camp in the Celtic Noricum.
Episode 60
Messengers of the Gods
aired: Tue, Dec 31, 1996
For the first time this film shows exactly how butterflies live and how they develop through their different phases.
Episode 59
Let It Snow!
aired: Tue, May 6, 2008
"Snow is snow is snow" one might be tempted to say. Yet people in the Arctic have hundred of different names for snow while other cultures have never seen it.
Episode 58
Genepool of the Alps
aired: Mon, Aug 9, 2010
The Alpine Zoo in Innsbruck is unique in many ways. Situated at 750 metres above sea level, it is regarded as Europe?s highest-altitude zoo.
Episode 57
From Valley Deep to Mountain High
aired: Sat, May 22, 2010
In the near future, some of the settlement areas will become uninhabitable, and new land will need to be tapped into because of climate change.
Episode 56
Power of the Rainbow
aired: Sat, Mar 14, 1998
The beauty of nature's colours only becomes visible in sunlight. The various colours appear when light divides. If sunlight refracts when it hits raindrops, the colourful miracle of the rainbow is created.
Episode 55
Prince of the Alps
aired: Sat, Jun 2, 2007
The red deer is he biggest and the most common species in Central Europe. It's still there because of its adaptability; when hunters intruded into their habitat and pushed them further back in the forest, the reed deer survived.
Episode 54
The Valley of the Ravens
aired: Wed, Sep 17, 1997
At the edge of the Dead Mountains lies an enchanting, sparsely populated area: the inner Alm Valley. Especially in winter up to 120 half-grown ravens gather in the area around the wild animal park to steal food.
Episode 53
Voynich Code: The Worlds Most Mysterious Manuscript
aired: Tue, Nov 30, 2010
It is the world's most mysterious manuscript. A book, written by an unknown author, illustrated with pictures that are as bizarre as they are puzzling and written in a language that even the best cryptographers have been unable to decode.
Episode 52
Kamp: A River for All Senses
aired: Sat, Mar 25, 2006
Far from being a long, let alone a wide river, the waters of the Kamp river feed one of the most fascinating valley landscapes of Lower Austria.
Episode 51
The Flight of the Bald Ibis
aired: Thu, Apr 17, 2003
Teaching migrating birds to migrate may sound like teaching your grandmother to suck eggs. But behind this curious-looking project is the story of a species persecuted to the point of total extinction in Europe.
Episode 50
The Karst: Life Between Heaven and Hell
aired: Tue, Oct 6, 2009
A scraggy land of harsh beauty but full of deception as well. This film explores the hidden charms of the stony cliffs along the Gulf of Trieste, the original home of the white horses from Lipica.
Episode 49
Saga of the White Tailed Eagle
aired: Fri, Dec 31, 2010
The sea eagle was once widespread throughout almost all of Europe and graced the coats of arms of many different countries.
Episode 48
Lake Woerthersee - Where Man and Nature Meet
aired: Fri, Dec 31, 2010
Lake Woerthersee in the Austrian state of Carinthia is not only one of the most beautiful lakes in Austria, but also, in the truest sense of the phrase an "internationally famous stretch of water."
Episode 47
From Drought to Deluge
aired: Fri, Dec 31, 2010
In the 21st century, the average rainfall will increase and likewise its intensity.
Episode 46
Sky Hunters - the World of the Dragonfly
aired: Fri, Jan 1, 2010
They hover over ponds and pools and inhabit the banks of rivers and streams. With their dazzling metallic colours and unique ways of flying they are truly jewels of the air.
Episode 45
Sea of Creepy Monsters
aired: Thu, Dec 31, 2009
The Lembeh strait in the northern part of the Idonesian island of Sulawesi is a unique hotspot of marine biodiversity.
Episode 43
Rose - Queen of Flowers
aired: Thu, Dec 31, 2009
Throughout the world, roses speak an unmistakeable language. They have touched and seduced mankind for thousands of years, while their names and varieties reflect contemporary history.
Episode 42
Year of the Hedgehog
aired: Wed, Dec 31, 2008
It’s springtime, the air is tepid, the skylarks chirp, and spring flowers cover the meadows and the forest grounds
Episode 40
Bohemia - A Year in the Wetlands
aired: Wed, Dec 31, 2008
In Bohemia, at the very heart of Europe, south of the Golden City of Prague and guarded by medieval castles, lies a hidden mosaic of lakes and gently flowing rivers, of misty forests and mysterious peat bogs.
Episode 39
River Without Frontiers
aired: Wed, Dec 31, 2008
The Morava river with its forests is one of the most beautiful and ecologically valuable riverscapes featuring the richest biodiversity in all of Central Europe.
Episode 38
Magic of the Mountains
aired: Wed, Dec 31, 2008
This is the story of a land, where forces of nature are at play - beyond all things that a human can ever dominate or be able to conquer.
Episode 37
Wasteland Warriors
aired: Wed, Dec 31, 2008
Surrounded by barren cities, sterile concrete or over maintained, uniform patches of green, more and more animals are losing their last places of retreat.
Episode 36
From Freezer to Furnace
aired: Tue, Jan 1, 2008
This is a journey to the hottest and coldest places on earth, where people go about their everyday lives under extreme conditions - and even enjoy it.
Episode 34
The Treasury - Viennas Natural History Museum
aired: Mon, Dec 31, 2007
For the world famous newspaper, the "Sunday Times", an English team of museum specialists determined the ten best museums of this world - Austria's Natural History Museum of Vienna was within the top ten.
Episode 33
Death at Dawn
aired: Mon, Dec 31, 2007
Premuda, June 10th, 1918 6:05 am: The Szent Istvan is sinking. The most modern battleship of the K.u.K. fleet has been hit by two torpedoes on its maiden voyage.
Episode 32
The Climate Change Bug
aired: Mon, Dec 31, 2007
For some time now the question of whether or not climate change is taking place has been more or less settled. The issue that remains largely unanswered however is: how will we cope with climate change and what effect will it have on our flora and fauna.
Episode 31
Jackals - Out of Africa
aired: Sun, Dec 31, 2006
In some cultures, jackals were pursued and condemned as pests that fed on parasite-infested carcasses.
Episode 30
Ol Man River Mississippi
aired: Sun, Dec 31, 2006
Perhaps the best known river on the planet, made famous by writers like Mark Twain, by the romance of the steamboat age and by the blues music spawned along its banks, Ol Man River still hides many secrets.
Episode 29
Tasmania - Paradise at the End of the World
aired: Sun, Dec 31, 2006
It was only two hundred years ago that Tasmania was a British colony known as Van Diemens Land and so remote that its only use was as a penal settlement for the most hardened criminals.
Episode 28
Napoli Dogs
aired: Sat, Dec 31, 2005
A soap opera set in the charming harbour side of Naples. More resembling a feature film than a documentary we stylishly will follow the fate of a pack of street dogs as they struggle for survival. Love affairs and gang raids guaranteed!
Episode 27
Wild Mongolia
aired: Sat, Dec 31, 2005
One of the most stunning, untouched landscapes on earth is found in the heartland of Asia: stretching from the impenetrable forests of Siberia in the North to the Chinese wall in the South and touching the horizon in the distance.
Episode 26
Baja - The Other California
aired: Fri, Dec 31, 2004
Baja California stretches 750 miles southwards from its famous neighbour, the State of California and is a 1000 kilometers long peninsula that sticks out into the Pacific.
Episode 25
Namaqualand
aired: Fri, Dec 31, 2004
Namaqualand is the setting for an annual wildlife fairytale. Every year in the narrow window between the cold wet winter and scorchingly-hot, dry summer, the largest floral canvas on our planet reaches a brief, but magnificent crescendo.
Episode 23
Appalachia: The Endless Forest
aired: Fri, Dec 31, 2004
Some of the richest forests in the world cover the ridges and valleys of the southern Appalachians.
Episode 22
Greece - Garden of the Gods
aired: Fri, Dec 31, 2004
Greece, the Ancient Empire, is the residence of the Gods from Artemis to Zeus. A sanctuary of impressive temples, ruins, mystical places of worship and home to a rich fauna and flora.
Episode 21
Flight of the Stork
aired: Fri, Dec 31, 2004
This program tells the story of a bird known and loved by everyone. In many cultures it is a bearer of good fortune. In ancient China it was the symbol of long life, in ancient Egypt of godliness: the white stork.
Episode 20
Cuba - Wild Island of the Caribbean
aired: Wed, Dec 31, 2003
Cuba is a tropical paradise. It is the largest and yet least known island in the Caribbean. In recent years it has become famous for its old American cars, Fidel Castro's brand of communism, cigars and rum.
Episode 19
Genghis Khan - Rider of the Apocalypse
aired: Wed, Dec 31, 2003
Genghis Khan - Rider of the Apocalypse tells the story of one of the most fascinating and enigmatic figures in history.
Episode 18
Poisoned
aired: Wed, Dec 31, 2003
A condemned prisoner is led down a cold stone corridor, lit only by torches, to a dark chamber where his life will end. He will die when the vital energy-producing chemical machinery inside each and every one of his cells is blocked by a complex reaction.
Episode 17
Ants - Natures Secret Power
aired: Wed, Dec 31, 2003
UNIVERSUM cameraman Wolfgang Thaler and Bert Hoelldobler, a leading authority on ants, bring us face-to-face with the mysterious world of these social insects.
Episode 16
Alpine Lakes - Quiet Beauty
aired: Wed, Jan 1, 2003
Springs, streams, ponds, lakes and rivers have forged our landscape over thousands of years.
Episode 15
The Dragons of the Canaries
aired: Wed, Jan 1, 2003
If we hear of a newly discovered animal species in the 21st century we cannot help pricking up our ears.
Episode 14
Almendro - Tree of Life
aired: Tue, Dec 31, 2002
Costa Rica is a narrow bridge between North and South America and a watershed between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
Episode 12
The Incredible Hulik and His Beavers
aired: Mon, Dec 31, 2001
A dedicated young man spent more than three hundred days and nights in the wild riverine forest along the river March, separating Slovakia and Austria.
Episode 11
Umbria: From Wreck to Reef
aired: Tue, Jul 24, 2001
On June 10, 1940, the Umbria, an Italian man-of-war, was scuttled in the Red Sea near Port Sudan. Tons of ammunition, 300.000 bombs and air mines, military trucks, motorcycles and silver coins sank to the bottom of the sea.
Episode 10
Salt - Tears of the Earth
aired: Sun, Dec 31, 2000
There are millions of solutions to the problems of survival but there is only one substance that has awakened all organisms to life: salt.
Episode 9
Trees of Tempting Fruit
aired: Sun, Dec 31, 2000
The Mostviertel, Austria's pear country, stretches from the river Danube to the Alps, right in the heart of Austria.
Episode 8
Ancient Amazon
aired: Mon, Jul 24, 2000
Through an expedition to seek proof in support of the theory that one hundred and thirty million years ago the original source of the Amazon was located in the Ounianga Kébir lake.
Episode 7
The Alps: Realm of the Golden Eagle, Pt. 3
aired: Fri, Dec 31, 1999
1.200 kilometers long, massive chains of rock form the most famous mountain range of the world. There between stretching in a wide arch lies a fascinating world.
Episode 6
The Alps: Realm of the Golden Eagle, Part 2
aired: Fri, Dec 31, 1999
1.200 kilometers long, massive chains of rock form the most famous mountain range of the world. There between stretching in a wide arch lies a fascinating world.
Episode 4
Bees - Living for the Queen
aired: Wed, Dec 31, 1997
The film documents the life of a bee colony for the duration of a year.
Episode 3
St.Stephan, the Living Cathedral
aired: Tue, Dec 31, 1996
People like to think of "nature" and "civilization" as opposites. In keeping with this, "nature" is outside: outside the city, or even more extreme, outside of Europe - in the African savanna, for instance, or along the Amazon.
Episode 2
Messengers of the Gods
aired: Wed, Jan 1, 1997
As the Alps have pushed skyward for millions of years, tossing up wave crests of rock like a churning sea, an ancient high plateau in their very midst has remained steadfast and calm.
Episode 1
Tough at the Top
aired: Sun, Dec 31, 1995
The rising tide of our civilization has not yet flooded the last peaks of the Alps. The Hohe Tauern mountain range is a high Alpine wilderness harbouring natural treasures that many people hardly know about, even from hearsay.
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