The principal figure has a hefty mass of approximately 9,800 metric tons.
Smuggled cocaine hidden in banana crates, dishonest law enforcement officers, and chaos in a local town: This is what the show "Wasserwege" predominantly covers, right? Not quite, because there's an additional element - a ship lift.
Detectives Ross (André Kaczmarczyk) and Rogov (Frank Leo Schröder) are usually surrounded by rough harbors and industrial facilities on their Sunday evening investigations, as well as picturesque river landscapes. The new "Polizeiruf 110" episode captures these setting skillfully; it's easy to identify that the focus is on "Wasserwege".
Interestingly enough, the canals near Eberswalde keep leading the two detectives to the film's main star: the recently opened Niederfinow ship lift, which took place in 2022 as the most powerful in Germany. Standing at 55 meters tall and weighing 9,800 tons, this structure dominates the otherwise flat Oderbruch region. With a length of 125.50 meters, width of 27.90 meters, and a lift height of 36 meters, it attracts an impressive 150,000 visitors annually. That's quite the pull for an elevator.
Crime follows scenery
However, the ship lift deserves more recognition than just being a tourist attraction. The Oder-Havel Canal, where it is situated, is the only navigable link between a Baltic Sea port and the extensive 12,000-kilometer network of inland waterways in Western Europe. While there's a decline in shipping traffic on many German waterways, the Havel-Oder Waterway between Berlin and Szczecin displays an opposite trend. In fact, about 6,000 ships and boats were reportedly lifted in Niederfinow between January and July in 2022, an 18% increase from the same period in 2021, with goods ships increasing by 37% to 1,968. The production team of RBB found this an adequate reason to make the ship lift the film's main centerpiece.
Director Felix Karolus confirms this: "When Frank Schmuck, the producer, brought me aboard, Eberswalde, the canal, and the ship lift were already set. We then went there, and 'reconstructed' the murder on location."
It's no secret that things can turn awry when the scenery overshadows the storyline in television crime dramas airing on Sunday nights. The cocaine case from Eberswalde may not be particularly thrilling, but the concept in "Wasserwege" succeeds: Karolus delivers such a stunning portrayal of the Berlin belt's industrial landscape that one can easily overlook the lack of tension and is instead, enticed to visit Eberswalde's inner harbor and the ship lift.
In the course of their investigation, Detectives Ross and Rogov stumble upon a connection between the cocaine smuggling and the ship lift, leading to an unexpected case of '[Murder and manslaughter]' linked to the bustling port activity. Amidst the rise in shipping traffic and annual visitor numbers, the ship lift becomes a prime suspect in this criminal conspiracy.
