NIBELUNGEN IN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC GERMANY

In Germany toward the end of the twelfth century, an epic surfaced which is considered to be the most important literary achievement of that era: The Nibelungenlied. Like its Greek counterpart, the Iliad, this monumental German poem goes back in time and unites myths and real historical figures into a heroic poem of love and deceit; murder, revenge and the self-destructive effects of launching a vendetta. Prince Siegfried hears of Kriemhild, the beautiful sister of King Gunther in Worms. Making his way to Worms, he kills a dragon and finds a treasure, 'The Hort'. Promised Kriemhild's hand if he helps Gunther..... Gerd Ludwig spent several weeks in Germany and Austria to photograph historical places, castles, monuments and festivals to capture the mood and essence of the epic.