Reichenbachfall

The Reichenbach Falls near Meiringen drop around 250 m in several tiers. They became world-famous as the scene of the fictional fatal struggle between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty in Conan Doyle's story. A historic funicular leads to the viewing platform.

Highlights

• Roughly 250 m high multi-tier waterfall
• Sherlock Holmes setting
• Historic funicular
• Sherlock Holmes Museum in Meiringen

Good to know

Practical info

Background & History

The Reichenbach Falls near Meiringen in the Bernese Oberland plunge in several mighty stages around 250 metres into the depths and rank among the most impressive waterfalls of the Swiss Alps. Fed by the meltwater of the glaciers around the Rosenlaui valley, the water thunders with tremendous force over the rock steps that the stream has carved into the hard rock over thousands of years. As early as the 19th century the falls were a famous destination for travellers who, on the grand tour through the Alps, sought the sublime wildness of nature, and a historic funicular has carried visitors comfortably to the middle stage of the falls since 1899.

World fame, however, the Reichenbach Falls owe to literature. Here the writer Arthur Conan Doyle in 1893 had his master detective Sherlock Holmes plunge into the roaring depths in a deadly struggle with his arch-enemy Professor Moriarty. The outrage of the readership was so great that the author had to bring his character back to life years later. To this day admirers from all over the world make the pilgrimage to the falls, where a memorial plaque commemorates the famous literary duel and Meiringen maintains its own Sherlock Holmes Museum.