Reichenbach Falls

The Reichenbach Falls (Reichenbachfälle) are a waterfall cascade of seven steps on the stream called Rychenbach in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. They drop over a total height of about . At , the upper falls, known as the Grand Reichenbach Fall (Grosser Reichenbachfall), is by far the tallest segment and one of the highest waterfalls in the Alps, and among the forty highest in Switzerland. The Reichenbach loses of height from the top of the falls to the valley floor of the Haslital. Today, a hydroelectric power company harnesses the flow of the Reichenbach Falls during certain times of year, reducing its flow. In popular literature, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave the Grand (or Great) Reichenbach Fall as the location of the final physical altercation between his hero Sherlock Holmes and his greatest foe, the criminal Professor Moriarty, in "The Final Problem". The falls are located in the lower part of the Reichenbachtal, on the Rychenbach, a tributary (from the south bank) of the Aare. They are some south of the town of Meiringen, and east of Interlaken. Politically, the falls are within the municipality of Schattenhalb in the canton of Bern. 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 that links Interlaken and Lucerne. The town and the falls are known worldwide as the setting for a fictional event: it is the location where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's hero, Sherlock Holmes, fights to the death with Professor Moriarty, at the end of "The Final Problem", first published in 1893. A memorial plate at the funicular station commemorates Holmes, and there is also a Sherlock Holmes museum in the nearby town of Meiringen. Out of many waterfalls in the Bernese Oberland, 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.

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Reichenbach Falls

Meiringen

Meiringen (ˈmaɪrɪŋən) 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, Sand, Stein, Unterbach, Unterheidon, Wylerli and Zaun. The municipal coat of arms shows a black eagle in a yellow field. ("Or an Eagle displayed Sable crowned, beaked, langued and membered of the first.") Formerly the coat of arms of the entire Oberhasli Talschaft, this design continues the imperial coat of arms.

Oberhasli

The Oberhasli is a historical Landvogtei or Talschaft in the Bernese Highlands, Switzerland, bordering on the cantons of Obwalden (OW), Nidwalden (NW), Uri (UR) and Wallis (VS). From 1833 to 2009, Oberhasli was incorporated as the Oberhasli district, the easternmost of the 26 districts of the canton of Bern, bordering the district of Interlaken to the west. Since 2010, Oberhasli and Interlaken have been administratively united as the administrative district Interlaken-Oberhasli. The local dialect is of the Highest Alemannic variety.