Wilderness in Europe: The Bohemian Forest
The Bohemian Forest is the source of the Vltava River, home to primeval forests, untouched high moors and bubbling torrents. This archaic stretch of land, which includes the Bavarian Forest, was long considered impenetrable and mysterious. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Bavarian border residents have rediscovered new references to this unusual forest landscape for themselves. This is also the case with photo artist Bastian Kalous, who has been documenting his homeland for years with nostalgic-looking Polaroid photographs and is dealing with its eventful history for an illustrated book. Or Elisa Belotti and Marco Heurich, who have dedicated their lives to the lynxes. In order for Europe's largest wild cat to survive in the Bohemian Forest, the lynx researchers fight for every single animal. Iryna Rudenko came to Zwiesel from Ukraine out of a passion for glass as a material to study at the glass school. After graduation, she would like to stay in Bavaria, Anna Hones grew up in Horská Kvilda, the smallest and highest village in the Czech Republic. The village lies just under 1100 meters above sea level, directly on the former border. The farmer, who experienced communism, the fall of the Iron Curtain and the subsequent changes, is now trying to find ways of surviving in this barren region with her children.
