In this two-part travel reportage, we journey through Karelia, the border region between Finland and Russia, which is also one of the most fascinating places in Europe. Karelia extends from St. Petersburg to the Arctic Circle, from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the ice-covered White Sea in the east. Described in countless songs and poems as a “land of blue seas, rugged rocks, wild rivers and mysteriously whispering forests”, it is a region entwined with fabulous myths that have their roots in the dim and distant past. We experience the impressive natural settings of Karelia as the seasons change, unique testimony to the culture and history of this region. At the heart of the documentary, however, lie the fates of the people who are attempting to survive in this inhospitable region and who are as threatened by the inconveniences of the weather – cold, snow, darkness – as they are by so-called civilisation and the depletion of their natural resources.
The Northern Cross
Foreign Cultures / Travel
- Title: The Northern Cross - Journey Through Karelia
- Original title: Das Kreuz des Nordens - Reise durch Karelien
- Film by: Klaus Bednarz
- Format: 2 x 45'
- Long running series: People - Places - Adventures
- Production: WDR
- Year of production: 2007
- Language / subtitle version: German
