Rhineland

The Rhine at Meerbusch

CathyDobson

In the current heatwave the only hint of a cool breeze is to be found down by the Rhine. The best place to catch it is the middle of the river from a boat.

View from the ferry at Kierst across to Kaiserswerth

Unfortunately the ferry between Meerbusch and Kasierswerth is not operating at the moment as it is ‘moonlighting’ for a couple of weeks as a pleasure boat at the fair in Oberkassel. We are obliged to cool off as best we can on the banks.

  • Rhine view upstream
  • Rhine view downstream

The low level of the Rhine means wide beaches have appeared along parts of the river, especially around Meerbusch. The locals are making the most of this, holding barbecues and parties there every evening.

Unusual lawnmowers at Schloss Pesch?

CathyDobson

Back in the days before the park was remodelled, it was quite common to see deer grazing in the grounds, especially in the early mornings. Of course as the park backs onto the Herrenbusch – you’d expect that.
What fewer people know is that it was also not uncommon to find cows grazing on what would once have been the lawn.

Good morning!

Not that the residents actually kept cows. Behind the row of trees at the back of this image there is a field before you reach the woods. The cows which inhabited that field were quite adventurous and enjoyed making occasional excursions through the hedge to roam the grounds of Schloss Pesch. Back then the residents were quite OK with the cows.
Once the park was tidied up and the lawns relaid, the cows were increasingly discouraged from using them as a pasture. It took a while for the cows to take that message on board though.

This new grass tastes amazing!

Old stories about Meerbusch

CathyDobson

One of the characters in The Devil’s Missal is a collector of stories. He travels around the various villages of Meerbusch talking to residents, gathering their tales of times past and present, trawling through old photographs, letters and diaries.

As a rural community, many of the anecdotes will have been about life on the land, which has seen great changes in the past century. It seems strange to think that only eighty years ago there were still farmers ploughing with oxen or horses in the area.

Schloß Pesch in The Devil’s Missal

CathyDobson

One of the most engaging aspects of The Devil’s Missal is the eerie setting of Schloss Pesch in Meerbusch for some of the key scenes. Since the events of the book the schloss has been extensively cleaned and renovated, to remove the decay and ghostly atmosphere which is so redolent in the novel. In particular the dilapidated old chapel which plays a crucial role in The Devil’s Missal has been renovated almost beyond recognition. For readers who know what went on there, this will come as a relief…

  • Schloss Pesch today
  • Schloss Pesch in The Devil’s Missal
  • The Chapel today
  • The Chapel in The Devil’s Missal

An exciting day in any author’s life!

CathyDobson

This afternoon the first sample proof of The Devil’s Missal arrived. I couldn’t be happier with the quality of the layout, print and the cover art is just wonderful. The cover photo was styled and shot by Angela Serena Gilmour, a very talented photographer who lives in Berlin. The layout was by Tamsin and Grosvenor House. Many thanks also to Becky at Grosvenor House for dealing with all my queries and neurotic fiddling with font sizes and other things that shouldn’t technically concern me. I am deeply indebted to the wonderful Claire Jennison over at Penning and Planning who is the best editor any writer could wish for and a suitably nit-picky proofreader to boot.

Now to give it one last read through and then if there are no more changes, it will be ready to go to press!

The St. Pankratius chapel in Ossum, Meerbusch

CathyDobson

One of the secret treasures of Meerbusch is the beautiful chapel of Saint Pankratius at Ossum.

St. Pankriatus Church was built in the 12th century as a private chapel to the Court of Grevenhof. The chapel itself is first documented in 1186, but Roman hand millstones, which were used in the construction of the choir of the chapel, and archeological finds dating from the Carolingian era indicate much earlier settlements.

Unlike other own churches in the region, St. Pankratius never became an independent parish church, but remained as a subsidiary branch of St. Stephanus church in Lank Latum.

In 1868 the Romanesque choir had fallen into disrepair and had to be demolished. It was replaced with a new neo-Romanesque polygonal choir. From 1900, an increase in the local population necessitated the building of an extension of the chapel on the western side.

In The Devil’s Missal the chapel provides a resonant setting for one of the crucial scenes in the story.

Early morning at Schloss Pesch in Meerbusch

CathyDobson

I chose Schloss Pesch in Meerbusch and the woods surrounding it as the setting for The Devil’s Missal. The atmosphere is perfect for an eerie tale of occult happenings and mystery. These are three photographs I took from an upper window of the Schloss very early one morning before the Rheinland mist had fully cleared.

Views from Schloss Pesch looking east towards Schürkesfeld.

A psychological thriller set in the Rhineland

CathyDobson

The Devil’s Missal is Cathy Dobson’s latest novel, an intelligently constructed psychological thriller set in the Rhineland, combining classic horror themes with the terrifying history of witchcraft and sexual deviance through the ages, all under the oppressive shadow of a corrupted church.