German farmers discover oil and immediately lose their damn minds. Greed, betrayal, and one very cursed heath.
43 minSeason 1 • Episode 7
LatestThis companion documentary delves into the real-life origins of the oil boom in the Lüneburg Heath. Actor Aaron Hilmer from the series "Black Gold" travels to Wietze in search of historical traces. Once a hub of the German oil industry, the town in the Celle district served as the real-world inspiration for the fictional series. In 1858, geologist Georg Hunäus drilled Germany’s first oil well here. By the early 20th century, oil derricks crowded the landscape of Wietze. Through conversations with historians and contemporary witnesses, Aaron Hilmer explores how the oil boom transformed this small village on the heath.
Greed for power, betrayal and the dream of quick wealth: An oil boom breaks out in the Lüneburg Heath around 1900, transforming an entire region into a German „Wild West“. This series tells of this time, of the destructive power of boundless selfishness, but also of the courage to rebel against injustice. Lüneburg Heath around 1900: The young farmer's daughter Johanna works as a maid to support her family. No one suspects that there is a treasure lurking beneath her family's fields – petroleum. Only Richard, the son of the neighboring farmer Pape, knows about it and dreams of a future together with Johanna. Their forbidden love is put to the test when the unscrupulous oil trader Mr. Robertson appears and a fierce battle for power and wealth begins.
Production
The Lüneburg Heath looks spectacularly cursed and beautiful.
Costume
Rural German workwear that somehow screams 'impending doom.'
Acting
Harriet Herbig-Matten carries the whole tragic enterprise.
Harriet Herbig-Matten
Johanna Lambert
Aaron Hilmer
Richard Pape
Tom Wlaschiha
Wilhelm Pape
Lena Urzendowsky
Luisa Pape
Jessica Schwarz
Martha Lambert
Henny Reents
Elisabeth Pape
Slavko Popadic
Jakub Mazurak
Daniil Kremkin
Max Jordan
Julius Nitschkoff
Marton Csokas
Tyler Robertson
Peter Schneider
Georg Lambert
Gwendoline Christie
Emma Robertson
Hinnerk Schönemann
Friedemann Born
Merlin Sandmeyer
Walter Schröter
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real Wietze oil field (1880-1963) was Germany's only significant petroleum source and inspired boomtown chaos similar to the American West.
Matthias Greving specifically wanted to explore how German 'Ordnung' collapses when resource extraction meets desperate poverty—the Western genre finally coming home.
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