Pfarrer Braun

Pfarrer Braun
Created by	Rainer Poelmeyer
Starring	Ottfried Fischer Father Guido Braun Hans-Michael Rehberg Bishop Manfred Hemmelrath Hansi Jochmann Margot Roßhauptner (Roßhauptnerin; episodes 1–20) Gundi Ellert Inge Haller (episode 21) Peter Heinrich Brix Commissar Albin Geiger Gilbert von Sohlern Monsignore Anselm Mühlich Antonio Wannek Armin Knopp
Country of origin	Germany
No. of episodes	21
Production
Running time	90 minutes
Original release
Release	2003 (2003)

Pfarrer Braun is a German television series. It is based on the character of Father Brown, originally created by G. K. Chesterton. The last episode of the series (Brauns Heimkehr) was produced in 2013 and aired on March 20, 2014. The reason for discontinuing the series was Ottfried Fischer's (Pfarrer Braun actor) advancing health problems, as the production company announced in May 2013.

Plot

Pfarrer Guido Braun investigates a case, which usually results in a punitive transfer and thus the establishment of a new plot location for the next episode. If he sees an injustice, he wants to put an end to it, defying the explicit prohibition of his bishop Hemmelrath. In sometimes not entirely kosher ways, he contributes to the solution of the case with the support of his sacristan Armin Knopp, his housekeeper Margot Roßhauptner and the clumsy chief inspector Geiger.

Main Characters

Pfarrer Guido Braun - despite the explicit prohibition by his bishop Hemmelrath - cannot refrain from taking care of mysterious deaths in his respective parish of service. All too often, however, these turn out to be insidious murders - and because of the public attention they attract, Braun is punitively transferred by his superior to a supposedly quiet neighborhood every two or three episodes or so. While "criminalizing" - as the bishop says - the priest more or less forcibly clashes with the respective police "authority", mostly in the person of the good-natured and slightly simple-minded chief inspector Geiger, who is also frequently transferred due to his "successes", happens to hold seminars on location, takes vacation or has to provide administrative assistance for his colleagues. In the final episode, Braun learns that he is suffering from a terminal illness. After solving the case, he dies during the service in Rome.

Ottfreid Fischer as Pfarrer Braun

Margot Roßhauptner, affectionately called "the Roßhauptnerin" by Braun, is the priest's housekeeper and always comments jauntily on Pfarrer Braun's goings-on (until episode 20). On the one hand, she tries to prevent Braun from criminalizing, because she fears the inevitable transfer and the resulting move, on the other hand, she often supports Braun's criminalizing through undercover activities. A kind of running gag is her risky fast way of driving.

Armin Knopp is the priest's sacristan. In the first episode ("The Seventh Temple"), Braun, as a prison chaplain in a Hamburg prison, is able to exonerate him of unjustified charges and thus obtain his early release on parole from the penal system; from that point on, he is his companion and aide. He falls in love anew in almost every episode, but is always pursued by the misfortune of love. In prison he learned to open any kind of locks, which occasionally helps his parole officer Braun to "criminalize".

Chief Inspector Albin Geiger was punitively transferred to the vicinity of the priest by chance. He is usually ex officio in charge of the criminal cases Braun gets involved in. However, it soon becomes clear why he, too, has to keep changing his place of duty: He acts too stupid for the task assigned to him, a "curse" for the priest. Since the third episode, it can be observed that Braun and Geiger form an alliance of convenience. Braun uses the police capabilities such as personal information, expert opinions or DNA analysis and Geiger uses Braun's capabilities, because the commissioner secretly hopes for a promotion, which he also gets from episode 13 and is promoted to the LKA.

Bishop Sebastian Hemmelrath is Pfarrer Braun's boss. He is God-fearing, but always looking out for the church's (and his own) advantage, though not particularly Bible-believing. While he always forbids the pastor to "criminalize", he likes to bet with him, but when he loses, he tries to get out of his bet. He hopes for an early appointment to Rome, but fails several times for a variety of reasons. In the final episode, he is finally made a cardinal.

Monsignor Anselm Mühlich, the secretary of Bishop Hemmelrath, turns out to be Braun's adversary, trying to intrigue wherever he can - and often getting the short end of the stick. He is also the one who - whenever Hemmelrath and Braun bet on who knows a Bible passage - reveals it to the bishop. Mühlich can also score occasionally against Braun, but ultimately loses. In the episode "Grimms Mördchen," however, Mühlich relies on Braun's criminalistic skills because he fears that he himself will become the victim of an assassination attempt.

Episodes

Nr.	Original Title	Translated Title	Plot	First Aired	Director	Script
1	Der siebte Tempel	The seventh temple	Pfarrer Braun is transferred to Hamburg as a prison chaplain after making the headlines through criminal investigations. As a pastor, he gets to know the imprisoned youth Armin Knopp. Braun succeeds in proving the boy's partial innocence and obtaining his early release on parole by somewhat wet blanketing the obligation in the confessional to an inmate. As a result of this new investigation, Braun's next punitive transfer promptly follows, this time to Nordersand, a fictional North Sea island. Braun, his housekeeper Margot Roßhauptner and Armin as an altar boy take over a small Catholic parish. Braun's superior Bishop Hemmelrath wants to keep him away from the crime of the big city. But even in the deepest province, Braun encounters mysterious occurrences. When the wealthy widow Gronewold, for whose deceased husband Braun read a Latin mass in exchange for "active charity" not quite according to church law, died unexpectedly, Braun was able to prove that, among others, a Dr. Hermann Teusch wanted to obtain the widow's inheritance by fraud.	17. Apr. 2003	Martin Gies	Wolfgang Limmer
2	Das Skelett in den Dünen	The skeleton in the dunes	The second episode, like the first case The Seventh Temple, is set on the North Sea island. On the beach, Geiger's son - the local police chief - discovers a skeleton representing the remains of the artist Wigbert Münzing. The only strange thing is that the latter seems to be still living to the fullest. Finally, Braun is able to prove that Onno, a homeless man, has a second existence.	25. Apr. 2003	Martin Gies	Wolfgang Limmer
3	Ein verhexter Fall	A bewitched case	After his investigations, which are once again forbidden, Braun is now punitively transferred to the Harz Mountains. There he has to contend with the ecumenism-loving pastor Happe, whose "hip" manner steals the pastor's nerves. In addition, Bishop Hemmelrath has forced a vow on his problem pastor Braun not to "criminalize" anymore, but he soon has to break this vow again. New findings emerge in a murder case that was already thought to have been solved. A teacher named Rinke was murdered and the deaf student Antonia, who confessed to the murder, is in custody as the perpetrator, but her boyfriend Winfried claims he is the real culprit. With the help of two laid-out pig heads and their insect infestation, Pastor Braun is able to prove that, contrary to the witnesses' statements, Rinke was not murdered on the Brocken, but in his house. This evidence leads to the real murderer.	15. Apr. 2004	Dirk Regel	Wolfgang Limmer
4	Der Fluch der Pröpstin	The curse of the provost	Braun continues to be in the Harz Mountains. A restorer named Manuel Castelnuovo becomes the priest's friend when he discovers his secret feasting cellar next to the room where Castelnuovo is restoring the tomb of Friederike, the provost. When Castelnuovo's dog and the latter himself die mysteriously, Father Braun determines that his friend not only had many lovers, but that there were also some enemies of the restorer. One or another must have spread dangerous fungal spores that led to the death of the gigolo.	22. Apr. 2004	Dirk Regel	Wolfgang Limmer
5	Bruder Mord	Brother murder	After Braun had tried in vain to lose weight in the Harz mountains, this time Hemmelrath sends Braun to a Rhenish monastery surrounded by a moat for a fasting cure. There, Armin, who supplies Braun with sausages and meat by boat, finds the dead Father Boniface. According to Abbot Nicodemus, he had killed himself. But Father Pankraz also dies, both had to do with translations of texts that prove that the papacy does not go back to Peter and thus has no basis. The abbot wanted to cover up this explosive issue. Braun has to "criminalize" in a monastery without electricity and internet - and for the first time with the permission of the bishop.	31. March 2005	Dirk Regel	Hans-Jörg Bruckner
6	Adel vernichtet	Nobility destroyed	At Falkenberg Castle on the Rhine, a falcon is robbed of its tail feathers and thus disfigured. The Baron of Falkenberg has to kill him, someone seems to have it in for the Falkenberg family. But all enemies from the Middle Ages and their descendants seem to be extinct. Between wine festivals, a noble family marked by the death of their mother and the autumnal Rhine landscape, Braun comes across gardener Karl Rabe, with whom something more than just his name seems to be wrong.	14. Apr. 2005	Dirk Regel	Hans-Jörg Bruckner
7	Der unsichtbare Beweis	The invisible proof	Monsignor Mühlich, the bishop's secretary, recommends that Father Braun be transferred to Pfaffenberg in the Saxon province. But the coziness there is soon over when streams of tourists want to photograph the small church and the rectory several times a day. During a wedding celebration, the tour guide Rosa is murdered. Her (ex-)boyfriend Matej, under urgent suspicion of the crime, asks Pastor Braun for church asylum as the angry guests of the celebration pursue him. Inspector Geiger, who happens to be undergoing survival training in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, is finally able to help decisively in this case.	14. Sep. 2006	Ulrich Stark	Arndt Stüwe
8	Drei Särge und ein Baby	Three coffins and a baby		21. Sep. 2006	Wolfgang F. Henschel	Cornelia Willinger Stephan Reichenberger
9	Kein Sterbenswörtchen	Not a word		28. Sep. 2006	Wolfgang F. Henschel	Hans-Jörg Bruckner
10	Ein Zeichen Gottes	A sign from God		29. March 2007	Wolfgang F. Henschel	Arndt Stüwe
11	Das Erbe von Junkersdorf	The heritage of Junkersdorf		5. Apr. 2007	Wolfgang F. Henschel	Cornelia Willinger Stephan Reichenberger
12	Braun unter Verdacht	Brown under suspicion		12. Apr. 2007	Axel de Roche	Arndt Stüwe
13	Die Gärten des Rabbiners	The rabbi's gardens		3. Apr. 2008	Wolfgang F. Henschel	Hartmut Block
14	Heiliger Birnbaum	Holy pear tree		10. Apr. 2008	Wolfgang F. Henschel	Cornelia Willinger Stephan Reichenberger
15	Im Namen von Rose	In the name of Rose		9. Apr. 2009	Wolfgang F. Henschel	Cornelia Willinger Stephan Reichenberger
16	Glück auf! Der Mörder kommt!	Good luck! The murderer is comin!		16. Apr. 2009	Wolfgang F. Henschel	Cornelia Willinger Stephan Reichenberger
17	Schwein gehabt!	Lucky!		1. Apr. 2010	Wolfgang F. Henschel	Ralf Kinder
18	Kur mit Schatten	Cure with shadow		8. Apr. 2010	Wolfgang F. Henschel	Cornelia Willinger Stephan Reichenberger
19	Grimms Mördchen	Grimm's little murderer		21. Oct. 2010	Wolfgang F. Henschel	Cornelia Willinger Stephan Reichenberger
20	Altes Geld, junges Blut	Old money, young blood		17. Feb. 2011	Wolfgang F. Henschel	Cornelia Willinger
21	Ausgegeigt!	Fagged out!		10. May 2012	Jürgen Bretzinger	Cornelia Willinger
22	Brauns Heimkehr	Braun's homecoming		20. March 2014	Wolfgang F. Henschel	Wolfgang Limmer

See also

• List of German television series

External links

• Pfarrer Braun at IMDb