Terra X History: Secret Vienna - Enigmatic Places in History
Hidden passages, centuries-old mummies, mysterious underworlds - "Terra X History" takes viewers on a search for clues to hidden scenes of history. Vienna's famous sights attract millions of tourists. St. Stephen's Cathedral, the magnificent Ringstrasse and the Hofburg, formerly the imperial palace of the Habsburgs, are alluring. But there are many secrets hidden behind the world-famous façades. For 700 years, the Hofburg, in the heart of Vienna, was the Habsburgs' centre of power. Legendary rulers such as Maria Theresa or Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Sisi lived and worked there. The oldest parts of the Hofburg date back to the 13th century, since when it has been steadily expanded and is now one of the largest palaces in the world. It comprises 2600 rooms, distributed over 18 wings.
Deep in the earth slumbers the mysterious underworld of the palace: a labyrinth of corridors and cellars, some of them four storeys deep, around which numerous myths entwine. Did Empress Sisi really have delicious desserts delivered to the Hofburg by a confectioner underground? Some stories belong to the realm of legend, others turn out to be surprisingly true - like a secret passage that may only be filmed in parts. What hardly any visitor to the Danube metropolis suspects: under one of the oldest churches in the city lie numerous mummified corpses. The deceased belonged to Vienna's high society in the 17th and 18th centuries, as their well-preserved clothing reveals.
What is the secret of the mummies? Vienna's sewers gained worldwide fame in 1949 as the setting for the agent thriller "The Third Man". The sewers of the Danube metropolis are among the oldest in Europe. Around 1900 they developed into a "city under the city" where society's outcasts had their quarters. Following in their footsteps, we go deep down into the cesspit of the Austrian capital. The grandfather of Nini Haas, owner of a delicatessen in Vienna's city centre, was astonished when he came across 2000-year-old vault remains during renovations in his cellar. They date back to the time when a Roman legionary camp was located there. What do we know about the life of people in "Roman Vienna"? St. Stephen's Cathedral in the centre of Vienna is considered the heart of Austria.
The cathedral's catacombs not only hold the sarcophagi of rulers of the Habsburg dynasty. There also lie the bones of thousands of nameless dead. Supposedly they are victims of a devastating plague epidemic in 1679, but this is a myth. "Terra X History" tells the true story. Together with historians and archaeologists, "Terra X History" explores the secrets of the Danube metropolis and looks behind doors that are not open to tourists.
Broadcasting on 06th of July 2024 at 02.10am on ZDF
Music: POPVIRUS Library