Rothschild Saga

Paleolithic: a mysterious and enigmatic period. Hard to grasp from today's point of view. How did people live then, how did their communities function? What does the statue of the Venus of Willendorf tell us about them? ... The Venus of Willendorf, an ingeniously crafted 29,000-year-old statue of a woman, is a naked and sensual witness to the early Stone Age. Who does he represent? Is it a real depiction of a woman or an ideal? Is it a tribute to women mothers? Analysis of the famous statue and other archaeological finds from Austria and the Czech Republic shows that Paleolithic life was more diverse than previously thought, including the role of women, who very likely performed the same activities as men. They were hunters of big game and guardians of ancient knowledge. Take us back 29,000 years to people who were a lot more like us than we think.

In 1061, a handful of Norman mercenaries, led by the son of a noble family from Hauteville-la-Guichard, a village in the Normandy bocage, set foot on the Sicilian coast. Roger de Hauteville and his troops had been commissioned by the Pope to reconquer the island from the Arabs, who had seized it in 831. These fearsome warriors took thirty years to achieve their goal, but when they finally entered Palermo in 1071, their leader became an enlightened ruler. Relying on the high quality of the local Arab administration, particularly in tax matters, he set about building what was to become one of the most prosperous and advanced kingdoms of his time.

A look at relevant scientific issues

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.

Explore a lesser-known part of Venice: the wild side! In coral reefs and hidden gardens, find everything from poisonous mammals to strange sea life.

The Mona Lisa, also known as La Gioconda, is a work by Leonardo Da Vinci and one of the most famous paintings in the world. It is currently on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris and is visited by millions of people every year. The Gioconda has not only gone down in art history for its artistic value, but also for the mystery surrounding its creation. Painted between 1503 and 1519, Da Vinci's last great work was revolutionary for the painting techniques used. After several analyses of the painting, it is known that the artist first made the drawing and then applied the oil paint. Da Vinci was the inventor of the 'sfumato' or blurring technique, which consists of blurring the outline of the drawing and softening the colors to create a play of shadows that gives the figure a three-dimensional effect.

Introduces the theory of the Viennese media scholar Rainer Maria Köppl that Bram Stoker was indirectly inspired by the figure of Princess Eleonore zu Schwarzenberg.

It's a condition known as "hypertrichosis" or "Ambras Syndrome," but in the 1500s it would transform one man into a national sensation and iconic fairy-tale character. His name: Petrus Gonsalvus, more commonly known today as the hairy hero of Beauty and the Beast.

In winter, a landscape straight out of a fairy tale; in summer, still a region to refresh mind and soul – Rosegger's forest homeland. Deeply snow-covered forests, ptarmigan, snow hares, and majestic red deer in winter; refreshing streams, blossoming fruit trees, and shy fawns in spring; cooling giant trees, lush alpine meadows, and playful chamois kids in summer; otters and noble crayfish in crystal-clear trout streams, and a magnificent display of colors in autumn – all this Peter Rosegger described in his books. More than a hundred years have passed, but what has changed most since then is the people.

"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. Nor is snowfall the same as snowfall. In this extraordinary documentary we are going to witness very different kinds and situations of snowing: from howling blizzards to the gentlest and loveliest of weather events.

It was the first big bust in the history of booms -- the burst of the tulip bubble. Once, tulip bulbs were worth their weight in gold and became the object of fantastic financial speculation. But, then...