Helden der Baustelle

An 18-story wooden high-rise with condominiums and office space is being built in Hamburg's Hafencity. In this episode, bad weather gets in the way of fitter Sascha Grevecke and crane operator René Nestler on the construction site. It's pouring with rain in the Hanseatic city. Matteo Marino renovates a 300-year-old half-timbered house near Witten with his father, cousin and uncle. And Michael Arz is responsible for a megaproject costing around a billion euros in Leverkusen. There, a bridge with ten lanes is taking shape.

Crane operator Mario Fenzel has to rely blindly on his workmate's commands during remediation work at a hazardous waste incineration plant because his vision is restricted. In Bremen, grain silos of a cornflakes factory are converted into a hotel. There, Thorsten Weitz and Kevin Bünger fire up their special saw. And in Upper Bavaria, renaturation is underway. In Freising, the Moosach is to flow visibly through the town center again. Project manager Herbert Priller and foreman Tobias Kleist are installing a sheet pile wall next to listed houses.

In the hazardous waste incineration plant in Baar-Ebenhausen, lava-like waste slag is blasted off. Heinz Kröger and his team have to reach deep into their bag of tricks to ensure that the charge does not detonate too soon. Because it is still up to 60 degrees hot in the shut-down furnaces. The Marino family rolls up its sleeves near Witten. Contractor Matteo is there with his father, uncle and cousin making preparations for the concreting. And foreman Günter Veigl is erecting a bored pile wall with his work colleagues in Freising.

The station building at Augsburg Central Station is being renovated. Project manager Martin Pöllath and foreman Karsten Rieger erect supporting trestles weighing several tons for the formwork in the excavation pit. Meanwhile, Jan Wernet and his work colleagues are blowing up giant balloons on the Zugspitze, which will then be covered with 4,000 cubic meters of snow and ice. On Germany's highest mountain, an igloo village with artfully decorated overnight accommodations is being built against a breathtaking natural backdrop. And Jens Rapp and his team blow up an old bridge in Kornwestheim.

Precision work at a height of 82 meters: While Daniel Coy and his metal construction colleagues erect suitable supports, Andreas Heller is positioning steel girders weighing several tons on the roof of a luxury residential tower opposite the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg. The crane operator has to cope with the wind. At Augsburg Central Station, 100,000 liters of concrete are pumped into a formwork. And in the igloo village on the Zugspitze, improvisation skills are called for in this episode. That's because Jan Wernet and his team have misjudged the size of a bar made of ice blocks.

A new weir is being built in Jettenbach am Inn in Bavaria. Assembly manager Heinz Prattes and his work colleagues bring a 55-ton steel segment into position on the construction site. The colossus is then flanged to the supporting struts. In Hamburg-Altona, a huge drill head is eating its way through the subsoil in a mega-project costing around 550 million euros. There, the Diebsteich S-Bahn station is being converted into a long-distance train station. And in the grain silos of a former cornflakes factory in Bremen, floor ceilings are being installed for a hotel.

A 32-ton drill head is used in the expansion of the Diebsteich S-Bahn station in Hamburg-Altona. "Steffi" has made the breakthrough after 120 meters and moves to another construction site in this episode of "Heroes of the Trade. Matteo Marino and his work colleagues in Herdecke are renewing a roadway at a recycling yard. The full professional uses his contacts to find a larger excavator. And Enrico Raum and his team are bringing history back to life in Potsdam. There, the destroyed Garrison Church is being rebuilt.

In Hamburg, the Alster swimming pool is being modernized. In three years, the aged landmark is to shine in new splendor. But not everything is going according to plan during the work in the Hohenfelde district. The concrete supplied is too viscous and the muddy weather in the Hanseatic city is making life difficult for the "heroes of the construction site". In Heidelberg, "learning by doing" is the order of the day. There, students are building a dormitory. And in the 56-meter-high tower of the Garrison Church in Potsdam, locksmith Daniel Günther and his team are installing custom-made steel stairs.

160 new apartments are being built in Würzburg. The 25,000 cubic meter excavation pit for the housing development has to be absolutely watertight. This is a real challenge so close to the River Main. In the Riem district of Munich, the "construction site heroes" are welding stainless steel sheets for two competition swimming pools on the campus of a high school. And ship designer Michael Oehmcke has designed a houseboat for a family of three in Hamburg-Harburg. However, when it comes to carpentry of the larch wood facade, not everything goes as planned. The boards are warped.

loppy work was done during the reconstruction of a single-family house from the seventies. That's why the client terminated the contract with the company responsible. Matteo Marino and his team are now supposed to straighten things out. The full professionals take over a large field of rubble from their predecessors. Can the problem house still be saved? Roman Steinbock and his sons are dismantling a 64-meter-high scaffold on the Aalto Tower in Bremen. And at the quarry in Saxony, a 150-ton surface milling machine is on strike. The machine's vibration dampers are defective. (Text: DMAX)

One of the most modern and sustainable residential and office buildings in Germany is being built in the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. The 18-story high-rise is being built almost entirely of wood. Matthias Schmidt and his team are assembling elements up to eight meters wide in Hafencity. Meanwhile, Karsten Rieger and his colleagues are rolling up their sleeves in Augsburg. There, the main train station is being converted into a hub for local and long-distance traffic. And steelworker Sebastian Roscher and his crew are renovating parts of a listed bridge in Dresden. (Text: DMAX)

his has never happened before in Germany: The eastern section of the Gumpenbach Bridge near Kornwestheim is being moved, including piers and foundations. Caroline Heß, who is only 29 years old, has a great responsibility in the adverse weather conditions. In Herdecke, meanwhile, the pumped storage power plant is being renovated. Full concentration is required when transporting a 180-ton spherical valve that regulates the water inflow. And protective gates up to seven meters wide are to protect an 18-story wooden house in Hamburg from storm surges. (Text: DMAX)

Civil engineering foreman Markus Grimm and his crew are under a lot of time pressure in the capital. Because while the men are pushing ahead with work on the new section of highway in Berlin, the wastewater from all of Neukölln runs through just one pipeline. Meanwhile, chief fitter Sven Wolf and his team are moving a ball valve into position at the pumped storage power plant in Herdecke. The 180-ton component must not be allowed to sway. And at the valley station of the steam rack railroad on the Schafberg in Austria, a sawtooth-shaped shed roof is being installed. (Text: DMAX)

Two crawler cranes lift a 320-ton component of a railroad bridge into position on the ICE line between Nuremberg and Bamberg. This is no easy maneuver for project manager Michael Eck and his team, as the machines have to work in sync in a very confined space. Meanwhile, in the Ahr Valley, Tommy Zuther and Sebastian Röske are renovating the basement of a 15th century half-timbered house using clay bricks. The flood had completely devastated the listed building. And in Willingen, Germany's longest pedestrian suspension bridge is being built. (Text: DMAX)

The guests of the luxury hotel "Bussi Baby" are to enjoy an unobstructed view of the Alps. Construction manager Gregor Cyzewski and his team are lifting an infinity pool onto the roof of the building for this purpose. Meanwhile, in the north of Friesland, the Rutteler Mill is being repaired. Master roofer Jörg Wiggers and his journeymen are getting creative at a height of 18 meters. And Kevin Lauber had to organize a replacement crane to erect a steel support on Germany's longest pedestrian suspension bridge. Will the assembly succeed in the second attempt? (Text: DMAX)

Project manager Karl-Heinz Weiss and his work colleagues are under time pressure in the district of Regensburg. There, the A3 was closed overnight at the Rosenhof junction so that the men can build a concrete formwork for a new bridge. Beams 20 meters long are being assembled above the highway. This is a job for experienced professionals. Belmin and Josef Husetovic release the elements from the crane at a height of twelve meters and position them with centimeter precision. In the dark, father and son have to rely on each other almost blindly. (Text: DMAX)

In Hamburg, the listed Alster swimming pool is being renovated. Bilal Özsoy and his team are to install 300 window panes and 58 lattice supports. But a hydraulic line bursts on a crane at the construction site. Matteo Marino and his uncle Rosario are sealing a house on a slope in Schalksmühle near Hagen with a so-called "black tank". And Hubert Theunis and his colleagues are erecting a transmission tower at an altitude of 2,100 meters to provide secure Internet and cell phone reception in the Hohe Tauern National Park in Austria. (Text: DMAX)

The Inn Canal near Tögging is getting a new bridge. The lifting of the 160-ton steel colossus is a matter for the boss in the Upper Bavarian district of Altötting. Markus Helling and his team have to work with absolute concentration to ensure that the 60-meter-long structure is not damaged. And Bilal Özsoy and his colleagues have to install a lattice support under the roof of the listed Alster swimming pool. The "construction site heroes" improvise during transport with a 130-ton crane, a lifting platform and pure manpower. (Text: DMAX)

In northern Hesse, Germany's longest pedestrian suspension bridge is taking shape. The imposing structure spans a length of 665 meters from the Mühlenkopf ski jump across the Willingen district of Stryck to the Musenberg. But the next construction phase will be a waiting game for Kevin Lauber and his team. The "heroes of the construction site" are to install supporting cables. To ensure that no one is harmed in the process, the terrain is widely cordoned off for safety reasons. But suddenly hikers and mountain bikers are standing in the middle of the construction site. (Text: DMAX)

A unique construction method is being used in Mönchengladbach. Piotr Wozniak and his colleagues are erecting a free-floating membrane roof there. The 330-ton structure has a diameter of 80 meters and is to stretch up over the company campus like an umbrella. For this purpose, the "construction site heroes" are laying out long ropes in the courtyard in serpentine lines according to a prefabricated plan. If the team makes even the smallest mistake, trouble threatens during construction and the roof could collapse. (Text: DMAX)