Schattenhalb Reichenbachfall 7-05-2024 10-56-28

Reichenbach Falls () is a

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

in the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland (; ; ), sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...

region of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, which drop a height of . At , the upper Grand Reichenbach Fall () is one of the highest waterfalls in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. The Reichenbach loses of height from the top of the falls to the valley floor of the

Haslital The Oberhasli is a historical ''Landvogtei (Switzerland), Landvogtei'' or ''Talschaft'' in the Bernese Highlands, Switzerland, bordering on the cantons of Canton of Obwalden, Obwalden (OW), Canton of Nidwalden, Nidwalden (NW), Canton of Uri, Uri ...

. A

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power company harnesses the flow of the Reichenbach Falls during certain times of year, reducing its flow. In literature, Great Reichenbach Fall is the location of the final altercation between

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

's hero

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

and his greatest foe,

Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...

, in "

The Final Problem "The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in ''The Strand Magazine'' in the United Kingdom, and ''McClure's'' in the United States, under the title " ...

Location

The falls are located in the lower part of the

Reichenbachtal Reichenbachtal is an valleys of the Alps, Alpine valley in Oberhasli, canton of Bern, Switzerland. It is situated within the municipality of Schattenhalb, connecting Meiringen with the Grosse Scheidegg pass towards Grindelwald. Its water, the R ...

, on the Rychenbach, a tributary (from the south bank) of the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence) and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to i ...

. They are some south of the town of

Meiringen Meiringen () is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Besides the village of Meiringen, the municipality includes the settlements of Balm, Brünigen, Eisenbolgen, Hausen, Prasti, ...

, and

Interlaken Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss ...

. Politically, the falls are within the municipality of

Schattenhalb Schattenhalb is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. The muni ...

in the

canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

. The falls are made accessible by the Reichenbach Funicular. The lower station is some 20 minutes walk, or a 6-minute bus ride, from Meiringen railway station on the

Brünig railway line The Brünig steam railway line () is a Switzerland, Swiss narrow gauge railway line that links Lucerne, in central Switzerland, with Interlaken, in the Bernese Oberland. The line runs via Alpnachstad, Giswil, Meiringen and Brienz, and passes over ...

that links Interlaken and

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

In popular culture

Arthur Conan Doyle's ''Sherlock Holmes'' stories

The town and the falls are known worldwide as the setting for a fictional event: it is the location where

's hero,

, fights to the death with

, at the end of "

", first published in 1893. A memorial plate at the

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

station commemorates Holmes, and there is also a Sherlock Holmes museum in the nearby town of

. Out of many

s in the

, Reichenbach Falls seems to have made the greatest impression on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was shown them on a Swiss holiday by his host Sir Henry Lunn, the founder of

Lunn Poly Lunn Poly was a large chain of travel agents in the United Kingdom. TUI Travel acquired Lunn Poly in 2003, and by the end of 2004 had retired the brand absorbing it within the wider Thomson Travel group. History The company originated from two ...

. Sir Henry's grandson,

Peter Lunn Peter Northcote Lunn (15 November 1914 – 30 November 2011) was a British alpine skier who competed in the 1936 Winter Olympics. As a spymaster in the early Cold War, he was noted for his resourceful use of telephone tapping. Biography The ...

, recalled, "My grandfather said 'Push him over the Reichenbach Falls' and Conan Doyle hadn’t heard of them, so he showed them to him." So impressed was Doyle that he decided to let his hero die there. The actual ledge from which Moriarty fell is on the other side of the falls from the funicular; it is accessible by climbing the path to the top of the falls, crossing the bridge and following the trail down the hill. The ledge is marked by a plaque as illustrated here; the English inscription reads: "At this fearful place, Sherlock Holmes vanquished Professor Moriarty, on 4 May 1891." The pathway on which the duel between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty occurs ends some hundred metres away from the falls. When Doyle viewed the falls, the path ended very close to the falls, close enough to touch it, yet over the hundred years after his visit, the pathway has become unsafe and slowly eroded away, and the falls have receded further back into the gorge.

In other media

The Reichenbach Falls are the subject of several early 19th-century paintings by the English Romantic landscape painter

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

. The indie band

Ravens & Chimes Ravens & Chimes is an indie art rock band from New York City. Formation (2005) Formed in 2005 while studying music and film at New York University, the band was picked up by Grey Rock Records/Better Looking Records after a demo of their song ...

named its debut album (released in 2007) after the falls. Many adaptations of Sherlock Holmes have featured the confrontation at Reichenbach, notably including the Granada Television series, starring

Jeremy Brett Peter Jeremy William Huggins (3 November 1933 – 12 September 1995), known professionally as Jeremy Brett, was an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes from 1984 to 1994 in 41 episodes of a Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV ...

as Sherlock Holmes. The Granada adaptation of ''The Final Problem'', with David Burke as Dr Watson and

Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter (8 April 192815 May 1995) was an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdo ...

as Professor Moriarty, was filmed at the real Reichenbach Falls. The series later returned there for some scenes in ''The Empty House'', with

Edward Hardwicke Edward Cedric Hardwicke (7 August 1932 – 16 May 2011) was an English actor, who had a career on the stage and on-screen. He was best known for playing Captain Pat Grant in ''Colditz'' (1972–73), and Dr. Watson in Granada Television's '' ...

as Watson. ''

Reichenbach Falls Reichenbach Falls () is a waterfall in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland, which drop a height of . At , the upper Grand Reichenbach Fall () is one of the highest waterfalls in the Alps. The Reichenbach loses of height from the top of ...

'' was also the title of a 2008

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

TV drama by James Mavor, based on an idea by

Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel ...

and set in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Numerous historical characters associated with the city, including Conan Doyle and his mentor Dr

Joseph Bell Joseph Bell FRCSE (2 December 1837 – 4 October 1911) was a Scottish surgeon and lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in the 19th century. He is best known as an inspiration for the literary character, Sherlock Ho ...

, are mentioned in the story. '' Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'', a 2011 film adaptation inspired by "The Final Problem", also hosts the falls, although in this adaptation, a large castle has been built over them, replacing the pathway. The third episode from the 2012 second series of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

drama '' Sherlock'', " The Reichenbach Fall" (inspired by "The Final Problem"), is a play on the waterfall's name. The special episode of ''Sherlock'', " The Abominable Bride", which was broadcast on 1 January 2016, featured a re-creation of the showdown between Sherlock and Moriarty set in Victorian times, as depicted in the book. The final season of the TV series ''

Elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, an ...

'' features a villain named Odin Reichenbach. The next-to-last episode, in which the character meets justice, is titled "Reichenbach Falls". File:Sherlock Holmes plaque.jpg, The Holmes plaque on the ledge Image:Sidney Paget - Original illustration of The Death of Sherlock Holmes, 1893.png, Holmes and Moriarty fighting at Reichenbach Falls, by

Sidney Paget Sidney Edward Paget (; 4 October 1860 – 28 January 1908) was a British artist of the Victorian era, best known for his illustrations that accompanied Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories in ''The Strand Magazine''. Life Sidney ...

File:BigReichenbach.JPG, ''The Great Fall of the Reichenbach, in the Valley of Hasle, Switzerland'' (1804, watercolour on paper) by

J.M.W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

References

External links