The two-part documentary "NRW from above" chooses a special perspective to show the geographical and historical characteristics of North Rhine-Westphalia: small villages and large cities, old castles and even older streets. The cameras fly over the Rhineland and the Ruhr area, over the Sauerland and the Teutoburg Forest - and make it clear that the most populous federal state can be both beautiful and ugly. The series follows where people settled in the past and what shaped today's cities. It also reconstructs how urbanization in the present is leading to ever smaller villages and ever larger cities. A look at the history shows how North Rhine-Westphalia was founded after the Second World War and what similarities and differences the two regions Rhineland and Westphalia have.