The Eifel, Germany's crime fiction capital

By Bernd F. Meier Sep 13, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Hillesheim, Germany - Dark forests and wind-tossed peaks are the hallmarks of the Eifel mountain region between Cologne and the city of Trier on the banks of the river Moselle in south-western Germany.

Locals are regarded by outsiders are reserved and taciturn while the landscape has a raw touch. Maybe that explains why the Eifel is Germany's number one crime thriller region with the town of Hillesheim at its heart.

Guests staying in Germany's first crime thriller hotel, the Krimihotel, are guaranteed an encounter with the greats of the genre. The hotel has 24 themed rooms, each one with its own name such as 'Arsenic and Old Lace,' 'Miss Marple' and 'Murder on the Orient Express.' In one room hangs a portrait of Alfred Hitchcock, in another an image of Germany's most famous crime-buster, Inspector Derrick, who was played by actor Horst Tappert.

Crime fiction fans from across Germany travel to this town of 3,000 souls situated in the Eifel's extinct volcano landscape. Together with the Krimihotel, Hillesheim is also home to the biggest collection of crime fiction novels in the German language with 26,000 volumes. After browsing its collection you can quench your thirst and hunger by dropping in to 'Cafe Sherlock' where you can have a Mafia Toast along with a strong espresso or decaf - or as the beverages are respectively called on the cafe's menu - Black Death and Restful Blood.

The author Michael Preute writes novels under the pseudonym Jacques Berndorf and in 1988 published the first crime novel to be based in the region, the Eifel Blues. Preute is a former reporter for Spiegel and Stern magazines and has penned over two dozen novels. He has sold 5.5 million copies and is known in the thriller scene as the godfather of regionally based crime novels from the Eifel. Berndorf's protagonist is the journalist Siggi Baumeister who can often be found tracking down criminals in lonely farmsteads, rustic village pubs and dark, brooding forests.

'There are now a dozen crime novelists writing stories set in the Eifel,' says Preute. Carola Clasen, Stephen Everling, Erika Kroell, Hubert vom Venn and Ralf Kramp are among the most popular of German writers who have specialised in regionally based crime novels.

Visitors to the Eifel can also take on the role of detective themselves. Chief Inspectors 'Klara Fall' (clear case) and Hella Blick (sharp view), alias Dorita Moleter-Frensch and Petra Denter, accompany guests on the hunt for clues. Budding detectives can choose from two- or four-hour walks.

On occasion truth and fiction have been known to mix in the Eifel: a controversial leisure and business park beside the Nurburgring race track that cost millions to build provides the background to one of Jacques Berndorf's novels. 'The project was the ideal material for a crime novel,' says Michael Preute.