Dresden by night along the River Elbe Photo by Kolossos, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Character and plot are the elements that drive a story for me, but neither can work properly without interaction with the setting in each scene. It can be weather, time of day, city, village, mountains, muddy road, traffic jam, buildings, farmland, beach, airport, caves, mountains – anything we face in our normal lives as humans. Sometimes in our writing, we stretch the description; other times, it stays mundane.
Double Stakes takes place in Poitou in rural western France, and in the cities of Berlin and Dresden in eastern Germany; two places that couldn’t be more contrasted! I live in Poitou, so the expansive countryside and stone buildings (and sunny weather!) are familiar to me. Berlin has been a favourite city of mine over many years. I set a fair bit of the action in AURELIA in a reimagined version there.
But Dresden and its area? I didn’t know much apart from the bombing of the city in the Second World War, its occupation by the Soviet Union for decades and a vague knowledge of its rich heritage as a royal residence for the Electors and Kings of Saxony and its cultural, architectural and artistic splendour. The city was known as the Jewel Box due its Baroque and Rococo city centre. Much of it has been reconstructed in its original form and a rather wonderful form it is.
Dresden main railway station Henry Mühlpfordt CC BY 2.5 (Wikipedia)
Some of it is more functional but maintains a sense of grandeur such the main train station. Built in 1898 to replace a smaller station from 1848, it was unique as an ‘island’ between the tracks and as a terminal station on two different levels. A thorough refurbishment and modernisation after German reunification started in 2006. The building is now notable for its train-sheds, which are roofed with Teflon-coated glass fibre membranes – very 21st century! Mel in Double Stakes is forever going through this station, but finds the solid stone sometimes interferes with her urgent calls back to the EIRS office in Brussels!
Another famous building is the Frauenkirche or Church of Our Lady. The earliest structure was founded as a Catholic church then replaced in the 18th century by a larger Baroque purpose-built Lutheran building in 1726.
To make a statement, the Protestant citizens of Dresden included a copy of the Augsburg Confession, the primary confession of faith of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, in the foundation stone. The completed church featured one of the largest domes in Europe.
Destroyed by bombing in the Second World War, the church was left in a ruined state for nearly half a century as a war memorial by East German leaders.
After German reunification in the 1990s, it was decided to rebuild the church, starting in 1994. It was reconsecrated on 30 October 2005, pointedly, the day before Protestant Reformation Day on 31 October.
The surrounding Neumarkt square with many Baroque period buildings was also reconstructed at the same time.
In Double Stakes, Mel goes inside the Frauenkirche for a covert meeting with a German Federal Police detective. They use the covered gallery whose windows are slightly angled so the two of them can’t be seen.
Frauen Kirche interior Photo: Gryffindor CC BY 3.0
And I couldn’t resist a scene on the Bastei Bridge, a spectacular visitor attraction for over 200 years and still going strong! The Bastei itself is a rock formation rising 194 metres (636 ft) above the River Elbe southeast of Dresden; the highest bit reaches 305 metres (1,000 ft) above sea level. They form the major landmark of the Saxon Switzerland National Park, named for its resemblance to the country of Switzerland. They’re also part of a climbing and hiking area that extends over the borders into the Czech Republic – a perfect fit for fitness enthusiast Mel to stretch her legs!
Photo: A.Savin – Own work (via Wikipedia) by Free Art Licence
The current sandstone bridge spanning the rocks – die Basteibrücke – replaced an earlier wooden structure in 1851. There are two ways of getting up there from Rathen, the spa town by the Elbe – the winding (reasonable) way or the very steep way. Mel takes one look at the steep path and opts for the other one. As it’s a major plot point in Double Stakes, I’m not going to say what happens there. 😉
I would love to go there in person one day, but for my novel, I used the very helpful Google Maps and was able to walk through the magnificent old quarter of Dresden, walk along the River Elbe and delight in the terrific view from the Bastei Bridge.
Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers – INCEPTIO, CARINA (novella), PERFIDITAS, SUCCESSIO, AURELIA, NEXUS (novella), INSURRECTIO and RETALIO, and ROMA NOVA EXTRA, a collection of short stories. Audiobooks are available for four of the series. Double Identity, a contemporary conspiracy, starts a new series of thrillers. JULIA PRIMA, Roma Nova story set in the late 4th century, starts the Foundation stories. The sequel, EXSILIUM, is now out.
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