Braunschlag

Life is not easy for Mayor Gerri Tschach. Not only is his village Braunschlag bankrupt, but his daughter Babs and her low-life boyfriend Ronnie are just after his money, and his marriage with Herta is already on its last legs. Which is why Tschach spends most of his nights at the run-down disco owned by his infertile friend Richard Pfeisinger. One night while drinking, the two of them concoct the half-baked idea of faking a Marian appearance to breathe new life into Braunschlag. They pick an unsuspecting victim, Reinhard Matussek, the brother of Richard’s wife Elfi and proprietor of a UFO landing field, as the perfect fool to witness the apparition. Now all it needs to do is stand up to the Vatican inquiry ...

The miracle of Braunschlag runs its course, while Richard and Gerri milk the miracle cow for all it's worth, Elfi dreams of making a fortune through knitting. But to her dismay her own father foils her plans. In the meantime Elfi’s wish for a baby grow stronger every day – but what she doesn't know is that her husband Richard is infertile. Ronnie is busy making plans – against the will of his girlfriend Babs – to rob the bank in Braunschlag. He convinces her that her former classmate, now a teller at the local bank, could be very useful to them. Meanwhile, the Vatican inspector Banyardi is trying to get to the bottom of the hoax, but when he falls in love, he decides to draw out the inquiry indefinitely so that he can stay on and keep making eyes at the object of his desire, the German farmhand Silke (Adina Vetter) who works for Gerri Tschach’s mother.

Whatever can go wrong does go wrong with Gerri Tschach. It must be a curse. Meanwhile the infertile Richard is looking for the guy who knocked up his wife Elfi. And he wants Gerri to help him. Since they won’t let Reinhard have a cut of their business, he starts his own racket at the local inn, charging admission for people to listen to him spread the word. Herta can’t stop thinking about the rabbit. She goes to the cuddle club, but this time she has a not so nice experience there. Silke fails to get Banyardi to forget his vow. And Babs tries to prod useful information out of bank teller Kevin. After a stroke of bad luck in a tennis match with Richard, Gerri is stuck wearing a plaster cast. And his bad luck continues: He is being blackmailed by Russians who want a cut of the miracle, and on top of that he’s concerned that the pregnant Elfi might be having his child!

Someone burned down the Madonna – and tension in Braunschlag is building. Not only are the villagers getting tired of the miracle, but more and more religious fanatics are congregating on the main square. Gerri Tschach, who is slowly but surely becoming convinced that God is out to get him, is suddenly paranoid that he has contracted HIV through Elfi. And he takes an AIDS test. Meanwhile, Herta has a date with the rabbit, who has bought a little beach bar on Zakynthos and wants her to go there with him. Elfi confesses to Richard that she has been to a sperm bank, where she picked out a donor who looks like Richard so everyone would think the baby was his. Richard still disapproves and pushes her to get an abortion. Banyardi and Silke come very close... to getting physical. One morning the bank in Braunschlag is robbed by a mysterious motorcyclist in black ...

Mrs. Berner suspects Ronnie of robbing the bank because all of a sudden he miraculously seems to have lots of money again. Herta leaves Gerri, who is being pressured from all sides on account of the miracle forest. Tension among the villagers comes to a head, and a town meeting is called. Following an argument, Ronnie disappears without a trace. Banyardi gives up priesthood for Silke, who promptly rejects him. After the town meeting, Gerri Tschach learns that St. Pölten and the Russians are in cahoots with each other. Old Matussek’s dog Bauxi that ran away three years earlier mysteriously returns. Babs sets out in search of Ronnie. And Herta goes to stay with her mother. Because Gerri is being blackmailed, he and Elfi decide to tell Richard about their affair. And Bauxi, the German shepherd, causes a nocturnal catastrophe ...

In Braunschlag the chaos continues. Dr. Feist, who was shot in the leg during the bank robbery, has to have his leg amputated. And after Old Matussek is attacked by Bauxi, the tension in Braunschlag is ready to blow. Reinhard goes out to hunt down Bauxi, the satanic dog that has triggered all kinds of religious speculation. Gerri resigns and hands his office over to Banyardi, who has meanwhile settled permanently in Braunschlag. But his beloved Silke suddenly quits her job as farmhand for Gerri’s mother and leaves Braunschlag and Banyardi without saying good-bye. Banyardi is left behind forlorn and lovesick. And when Katzlbrunner provokes Gerri, Richard beats him unconscious in his disco ...