Wohnen im Wald: Ritas Traum vom Leben mit der Natur und wilden Tieren | ARD Room Tour

Even as a child, Rita had a special connection to the forest and its animals—she grew up in the Gelbach Valley and spent a lot of time in nature. She wouldn’t go home until it got dark or the church bells rang. Even back then, she dreamed of living in the middle of the forest. Now Rita’s dream has come true: in her mid-50s, she was offered the chance to buy the former hunting lodge in Dörnberg. At first, she wasn’t sure if she should take the plunge at her age. But she mustered all her courage and bought the property, which lies in the middle of the forest. She is happy to now be able to live surrounded by nature and wildlife. After the purchase, Rita carefully transformed the hunting lodge into her home: she painted the colorful walls white and added new accents with 1960s furniture. In doing so, she wanted to breathe some of the spirit of the era into the house when it was built. With many green plants, nature and the forest then also moved into the house. There are animals at Rita’s hunting lodge, too: in addition to her cats, she often gets visits from wild animals from the forest. And of course, there are plenty of deer at the lodge. Rita has never actually counted all the deer figurines and pictures. But her friends and acquaintances know how much she loves them and bring her some every now and then. Rita hardly ever buys anything new; instead, she uses secondhand furniture and other items or repurposes things. Her hunting lodge has an eventful history: It was built in 1952 by the engineer of the lock in Kalkofen. Since he held the hunting lease in Dörnberg, he replaced the small hunting cabin that stood there at the time with the current house. Later, the builder’s daughter ran a children’s home on this site—from the 1970s until the late 1990s. Even today, relics from that era can still be found around the hunting lodge in the form of children’s toys. After that, the house stood empty for about three years and fell into disrepair until a couple from England bought it and renovated it. By chance, Rita and the English couple met years ago at a birthday party and became friends. They were united by their love for this special place and their enjoyment of the unique house nestled in the heart of nature. When the English couple returned to their homeland, they offered it to Rita for sale. Since then, Rita has been living in her hunting lodge in the middle of the forest. The nature lover hasn’t regretted the purchase for a second: While some fear the solitude of the forest, she delights in her many wild “roommates” such as martens, raccoons, eagle owls, little owls, lizards, or even the occasional herd of wild boars. Being so close to nature and the wildlife is priceless to her! Rita is a certified nature guide and wildcat ambassador. In her free time, she leads groups through Nassau Nature Park and hosts children’s birthday parties, where she explains the unique features of the forest to the kids. The hunting lodge in the middle of the forest offers Rita peace and relaxation, but it also inspires her. She wrote crime novels in her youth and has now taken it up again. Living in the heart of the forest—that’s exactly her thing, and with the hunting lodge, Rita’s lifelong dream has come true. A film by Jennifer Lindemann (Editor), Tobias von Hellborn (Camera), Dennis Jankovic (Camera/Sound), and Daniel Alznauer (Editing). 00:00 Life in a hunting lodge in the woods 00:52 Hallway 01:55 Bedroom 05:02 Bathroom 07:24 Guest room 08:18 Kitchen 09:50 Living room 11:07 Terrace 11:52 Garden