Zwei Münchner In Hamburg

(''Two Münchners in Hamburg''), is a German television series that aired from 1989 to 1993 in three seasons. It is based on a book by Karl Heinz Freynik.

The series was directed by Rolf von Sydow, Peter German, Celino Bleiweiß and Wilfried Dotzel. Originally, the episodes had a length of about 50 minutes. For subsequent airings, abridged versions of about 45 minutes were developed, which also included shorter credits than the original version.

Plot

Julia Heininger, is head of department at Bayernbank's head office in Munich. She is a fighter for the interests of ordinary people and puts humanity before the pursuit of merit. When she is given the task of managing the bank branch in Hamburg, Julia is initially unenthusiastic about the move. Instead of appreciating the huge vote of confidence from the head office, she suspects an intrigue of her rival Dr Ralf-Maria Sagerer behind this transfer to the Hanseatic city in the far north of Germany. However, many board members have little confidence in a female bank director and Dr Sagerer continues to stir up trouble against Julia. As a consequence, the Munich head office also relocates Julia's arch-enemy to Hamburg as her deputy. He is supposed to observe and curb Julia's ‘alternative’ and often socio-politically motivated investments.

Julia moves with her 12-year-old son Maxl and her resolute housekeeper Fanny into an Art Nouveau terraced house in Hamburg-Harvestehude in the fictitious street Eppendorfer Allee 35. The delicatessen trader Alfred Haack lives in the neighbourhood and everyone calls him ‘Vadder Haack’ in the local Hamburg dialect. The sociable man in his mid-sixties soon becomes part of the family, and he and Fanny in particular become close friends.

Julia has to realise that Ralf is actually a really smart guy. The two soon grow closer, despite Ralf's Italian girlfriend Beatrice and many misunderstandings. The charming private banker Thaddäus van Daalen also plays an important role, as he finally wants to get his headstrong son Hendrik married. He would like to win Julia's heart, but only wins her friendship. In Beatrice, Hendrik finally finds the woman for life.

Julia's relationship with the bank management couldn't be better: soon after the death of his wife, director Bernhard Schwaiger marries Julia's mother Hermine, who runs a beautiful hotel on Lake Tegernsee. Her greatest wish would be for Julia to succeed her one day. Her valet Toni, who transports the guests by carriage, is a loyal friend and counsellor. Father Rochus runs a hermitage in the mountains, and the Heiningers visit him whenever something is on their minds.

The Hamburg branch of the bank is staffed by the affable Kuno Grameier, also a Bavarian far from home, the bustling secretary Mrs Heise and the discreet and tradition-conscious porter Löhlein. They faithfully support the new arrivals. A frequent guest at the Sagerer-Heininger house is Sascha, Ralf's light-blooded brother, who is making a living in Hamburg. Like his brother, he is a passionate motorcyclist.

The family is repeatedly transported to the Bavarian mountains, the second major location in the series, where van Daalen senior takes Hermine into his care after retiring from business life. After Director Schwaiger's retirement, the ambitious and wet-behind-the-ears Dr Fiedler takes over the reins at the Munich headquarters. After a few courageous solo efforts and various disagreements with Dr Fiedler, Julia soon sets up her own consulting business. Her successor is the distinctive manager Dr Kaulbach, with whom Julia gets on very well after some initial mistrust.

There's a lot of trouble over Ralf's birth certificate: he was born in Czechoslovakia and there can be no wedding without papers. Thanks to Sascha's poor knowledge of Czech and some serious bureaucratic obstacles, the wedding has to be postponed several times. Soon there is an offspring: daughter Marie-Therese makes Ralf a proud father for the first time. A skiing holiday with an unexpected twist, a very special trip to California and many entanglements with bank customers keep the TV family on their toes.

Distribution

The series has now been released in its entirety on DVD, using the original unabridged version of the episodes. The first season has been available on four DVDs since 19 December 2005, containing the pilot episode 'Abschied von der Isar' and twelve episodes. The total running time is 630 minutes. The second season followed on 6 August 2007 and season 3 on 10 March 2008, each consisting of four DVDs and containing episodes 13 to 24 (total running time 607 minutes) and 25 to 37 (540 minutes) respectively.
The three seasons were re-released in a new edition in 2016.

The special 'Das größte Fest des Jahres - Weihnachten bei unseren Fernsehfamilien', first broadcast on 26 December 1991 and re-run on 18 December 2005, was released on 8 October 2007 as bonus material with the 3rd (DVD) season of the series Die Schwarzwaldklinik.

See also

*List of German television series

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zwei Munchner in Hamburg
German television soap operas
Television shows set in Hamburg
1989 German television series debuts
1993 German television series endings
German-language television shows
ZDF original programming