Henry Schultze

The port of Hamburg has experienced and survived many things: epidemics, fires and floods, wars and destruction - but always also reconstruction. This documentary tells the story of how a small jetty on the Elbe became the global port we know today over the course of eight centuries. It is the story of one of Europe's largest ports, its people and their ideas.

The talented young entrepreneur Finn Sieveking has to cope with the death of his mother Maria, who was always at his side in the management of the traditional Hamburg family business. Out of nowhere the adventurer Jonathan Clark appears, who introduces himself as his biological father. Finn has to cooperate with him unwillingly, because Maria has bequeathed both of them half of their business shares. Only gradually does Finn begin to understand what his clever mother intended.

Sarajevo, late June 1914: A Serbian nationalist shoots the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne and his wife. A few weeks later, war raged in Europe with devastating consequences.