Bayerns Weg zur Demokratie

How did Bavaria become a democracy? Which hurdles had to be overcome, which sacrifices had to be made? David Zimmerschied guides the viewer through 200 years of Bavarian history - by examining the exciting lives of six historical figures and the most important places that made this history. In 1818 King Maximilian gives a new constitution to his people - one of the most modern constitutions of its time in Europe. Finally, citizens are allowed to contribute to the political landscape in their own country and vote their representatives into parliament. After the end of the Holy Roman Empire, Bavaria has completely changed. Many regions and towns have newly come under the rule of the House of Wittelsbach. In parliament, their representatives meet. Wilhelm Joseph Behr, a liberal constitutional lawyer and mayor of Würzburg, intends to expand the idea of the sovereignty of the people. Franz Anton Höss, a brewery owner from Immenstadt, is a pragmatist who wants to do something for his fellow citizens in his home region, the Allgäu, an Alpine region. Wilhelm Behr keeps introducing reform bills to Parliament in order to strengthen the rights of the citizens - pitting himself against the crown prince and later king Ludwig I. Some of these ideas are too modern, even for Behr's parliamentary colleague Franz Höss. Nevertheless, in their own way all three of them contribute to the emergence of the modern Bavarian state. Bavarian identity is formed not just by the kings and nobility, but also by Parliament and the constitution. David Zimmerscheid follows in the steps of von Behr, Höss and King Ludwig I. and witnesses their first attempts on the way to democracy. The documentary looks into Bavaria at this time and the fight for the people's involvement in the political process.