Mourning for Eifel crime author Jacques Berndorf

Created: 07/04/2022Updated: 07/04/2022 18:02

The German author Jacques Berndorf is sitting at a reading in Cologne in 2013.

© Rolf Vennenbernd/picture alliance/dpa/archive picture

Rhineland-Palatinate mourns the loss of a great author.

Jacques Berndorf inspired millions of readers with his Eifel thrillers.

He leaves a lot - also in the festival landscape.

Dreis-Brück – The well-known Eifel crime author Jacques Berndorf is dead. He died on Sunday at the age of 85 in his home in Dreis-Brück in the volcanic Eifel, his wife Geli Gatzke-Preute told the German Press Agency on Monday.

He was ill and died of old age after a long, eventful life.

Born in Duisburg, whose real name was Michael Preute, he was considered one of the most successful German crime writers and co-inventor of regional crime fiction.

"We mourn Michael Preute, the father of regional crime stories," said the Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of Culture Katharina Binz (Greens).

The idea of ​​"taking the plot of detective novels out of the city and letting it play out in the idyll of rural areas" has captivated millions of readers.

With his work, Berndorf not only created a new literary genre, but also enriched the cultural landscape in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The crime festival "Tatort Eifel", which took place for the first time in 2002, was also initiated by him.

"Jacques Berndorf will always be a part of this crime thriller festival," said Binz, with a view to the next edition of the series this September - as part of the Rhineland-Palatinate cultural summer.

Secretary of State for Culture Jürgen Hardeck (SPD) added: "Even if we have hardly had any contact in recent years: With Michael Preute a friend died for me.

I will never forget him."

According to its publisher Ralf Kramp, Berndorf has sold more than six million books.

It all started in 1989 with his first Eifel thriller "Eifel-Blues" - a good 20 more followed.

At the time, Berndorf was an important source of inspiration for the regional thriller boom, said Kramp in nearby Hillesheim.

"Berndorf has cracked the provinces." Before "Eifel-Blues" thrillers would have played primarily in large cities.

dpa