View source for Reichenbach Falls

{{short description|Waterfall in Switzerland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}}
{{about|the falls|the 2007 film|Reichenbach Falls (film){{!}}''Reichenbach Falls'' (film)|the 2012 TV episode|The Reichenbach Fall}}
{{Infobox waterfall
|name          = Reichenbach Falls
|alt_name      = {{langx|de|Reichenbachfälle}}
|photo         = Schattenhalb Reichenbachfall 7-05-2024 10-56-28.jpg
|photo_caption = The Grand Reichenbach Fall
|location      = {{Plainlist|
*[[Schattenhalb]] 
*[[Cantons of Switzerland|Canton]] of [[Canton of Bern|Bern]]
*[[Switzerland]]
}}
|coords        = {{coord|46|42|49|N|8|10|59|E|region:CH-BE}}
|map           = Switzerland#Canton of Bern
|map_caption   =Location ins Switzerland##Location in the canton of Bern
|height        = {{convert|250|m|abbr=on}}
|width         = 
|number_drops  = 7
|average_flow  = {{convert|3–5|m3/s|abbr=on}}
}}
[[File:Reichenbachfall 2007.jpg|thumb|right|The Grand Reichenbach Fall at night]]

'''Reichenbach Falls''' ({{langx|de|Reichenbachfälle}}) is a [[waterfall]] in the [[Bernese Oberland]] region of Switzerland,<ref name=swisstopo/> which drop a height of {{convert|250|m}}.<ref name=worldwaterfall>{{cite web |title=Reichenbachfall |url=https://www.worldwaterfalldatabase.com/waterfall/223 |website=World Waterfall Database |access-date=18 November 2018}}</ref> In literature, the upper Great Reichenbach Fall is the location of the final altercation between [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s hero [[Sherlock Holmes]] and his greatest foe, [[Professor Moriarty]], in "[[The Final Problem]]".

==Description==
The Reichenbach Falls have a height of {{convert|250|m}}.<ref name=worldwaterfall/> At {{convert|110|m}}, the upper Grand Reichenbach Fall ({{langx|de|Grosser Reichenbachfall}}) is one of the highest waterfalls in the [[Alps]].<ref>{{cite web |editor-last=Schwick |editor-first=Christian |editor2-last=Spichtig |editor2-first=Florian |title=Wasserfall-DB |url=http://www.waterfall.ch/index.php?N1_ID=177&N2_ID=171&Language=de |access-date=2017-07-11 |work=waterfall.ch |publisher=Schweizerische Greina-Stiftung (SGS) |language=de |location=Zurich, Switzerland}}</ref> It loses {{convert|290|m}} of height from the top of the falls to the valley floor of the [[Haslital]].<ref name=swisstopo>{{cite map |url=https://s.geo.admin.ch/745eff8c08 |title=Reichenbachfall |map=1210 - Innertkirchen |map-url=https://shop.swisstopo.admin.ch/en/products/maps/national/lk25?layer=ch.swisstopo.landeskarte25_papier.metadata&product=1210&productIdentifier=1210&childGroupIdentifier=lk25eb#product-1210 |scale=1:25 000 |series=National Map 1:25'000 |edition=2015 |date=2013 |publisher=Federal Office of Topography – [[swisstopo]] |location=Wabern, Switzerland |isbn=978-3-302-01210-0 |via=map.geo.admin.ch |access-date=2017-07-11}}</ref> A [[hydroelectric]] power company harnesses the flow of the Reichenbach Falls during certain times of year, reducing its flow.<ref name=RBFF>{{cite web |url=http://www.grimselwelt.ch/bahnen/reichenbachfall-bahn |title=Reichenbach Funicular |publisher=Kraftwerke Oberhasli AG |location=Innertkirchen, Switzerland |work=Grimselwelt |quote=The thundering waters of the Reichenbach Waterfall |access-date=2017-07-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.european-traveler.com/switzerland/visit-the-reichenbach-waterfalls-near-meiringen-in-switzerland/ |title=Visit the Reichenbach Waterfalls near Meiringen in Switzerland |publisher=European Traveller |access-date=2012-01-16}}</ref>

==Location==
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 {{cvt|1.5|km}} south of the town of [[Meiringen]], and [[Interlaken]]. Politically, the falls are within the municipality of [[Schattenhalb]] in the [[canton of Bern]].<ref name=swisstopo/><ref name=RBFF/>

The falls are made accessible by the [[Reichenbach Funicular]]. The lower station is some 20 minutes' walk, or a six-minute bus ride, from [[Meiringen railway station]] on the [[Brünig railway line]] that links Interlaken and [[Lucerne]].<ref name=swisstopo/><ref name=RBFF/>

==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 [[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]].<ref name="plobit">{{cite news |date=6 December 2011 |title=Peter Lunn |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/special-forces-obituaries/8939098/Peter-Lunn.html |url-access=registration |access-date=2011-12-15 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London}}</ref>

Out of many [[waterfall]]s 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 [[Henry Simpson Lunn|Sir Henry Lunn]], the founder of [[Lunn Poly]]. Sir Henry's grandson, [[Peter Lunn]], 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.<ref name=plobit/>

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.<ref name=plobit/>

===In other media===
The Reichenbach Falls are the subject of several early 19th-century paintings by the English [[Romanticism|Romantic]] landscape painter [[J. M. W. Turner]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-the-great-fall-of-the-reichenbach-in-the-valley-of-hasle-switzerland-tw0018 | title = The Great Fall of the Reichenbach, in the Valley of Hasle, Switzerland, 1804, Joseph Mallord William Turner | publisher = Tate, London | access-date = 2013-01-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-the-great-fall-of-the-reichenbach-switzerland-tw0896 | title = The Great Fall of the Reichenbach, Switzerland, 1802, Joseph Mallord William Turner | publisher = Tate, London | access-date = 2013-01-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-the-upper-falls-of-the-reichenbach-tw0491 | title = The Upper Falls of the Reichenbach, 1802, Joseph Mallord William Turner | publisher = Tate, London | access-date = 2013-01-06}}</ref>

The indie band [[Ravens & Chimes]] named its debut album (released in 2007) after the falls.<ref>{{cite journal | url = https://www.spin.com/2007/10/ravens-and-chimes/ | title = Ravens and Chimes | journal = [[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |first=Chandler |last=Levack |date=3 October 2007 |access-date = 2013-01-06}}</ref> 

Many adaptations of Sherlock Holmes have featured the confrontation at Reichenbach, notably including the [[Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series)|Granada Television series]], starring [[Jeremy Brett]] as Sherlock Holmes. The Granada adaptation of ''The Final Problem'', with [[David Burke (British actor)|David Burke]] as Dr Watson and [[Eric Porter]] 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]] as Watson.

''[[Reichenbach Falls (film)|Reichenbach Falls]]'' was also the title of a 2008 [[BBC Four]] TV drama by James Mavor, based on an idea by [[Ian Rankin]] and set in [[Edinburgh]]. Numerous historical characters associated with the city, including Conan Doyle and his mentor Dr [[Joseph Bell]], are mentioned in the story.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0862641/plotsummary | title = Reichenbach Falls (2007) | publisher = [[Internet Movie Database]] | access-date = 2013-01-06}}</ref>

''[[Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows]]'', a [[2011 in film|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vfxfestival.com/AEAF-News/framestore-sherlock-holmes-a-game-of-shadows |title=Framestore - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows &#124; AEAF News |publisher=Vfxfestival.com |access-date=2013-02-02}}</ref>

The third episode from the 2012 second series of the [[BBC]] drama ''[[Sherlock (TV series)|Sherlock]]'', "[[The Reichenbach Fall]]" (inspired by "The Final Problem"), is a play on the waterfall's name.<ref name="woll">{{cite news |first=Sam |last=Wollaston |title=TV review: Sherlock &#124; Call the Midwife &#124; Hugh's Hungry Boys |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/jan/15/tv-review-sherlock |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |date=15 January 2012 |access-date=2012-01-16}}</ref><ref name="crompton">{{cite news |first=Sarah |last=Crompton |date=15 January 2012 |title=Sherlock: final episode, BBC One, review
|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9013972/Sherlock-final-episode-BBC-One-review.html |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London |access-date=2012-01-16}}</ref> 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 ''[[List of Elementary episodes|Elementary]]'' features a villain named Odin Reichenbach. The second-last episode, in which the character meets justice, is titled "Reichenbach Falls".

<gallery mode="packed" heights="240px">
File:Sherlock Holmes plaque.jpg|The Holmes plaque on the ledge
Image:Sidney Paget - Original illustration of The Death of Sherlock Holmes, 1893 (cropped).png|Holmes and Moriarty fighting at Reichenbach Falls, by [[Sidney Paget]]
File:BigReichenbach.JPG|''The Great Fall of the Reichenbach, in the Valley of Hasle, Switzerland'' (1804, watercolour on paper) by [[J. M. W. Turner]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of waterfalls]]
* [[List of waterfalls in Switzerland]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{wikisource}}
{{commons category|Reichenbach Falls}}
*[http://www.grimselwelt.ch/en/transport-lift/reichenbachfall Reichenbach Funiclar]
*[http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/galleries/beeline/pages/23160795_jpg.htm Photos from the Sherlock Holmes Society of London] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204153507/http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/galleries/beeline/pages/23160795_jpg.htm |date=2008-12-04 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070303074805/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/features/reichenbach-falls.shtml "Reichenbach Falls", BBC Four Film & Drama]

{{HolmesNovels}}

{{coord|46|42|49|N|8|10|59|E|region:CH-BE_type:waterbody|display=title}}

[[Category:Sherlock Holmes]]
[[Category:Bernese Oberland]]
[[Category:Landforms of the canton of Bern]]
[[Category:Oberhasli]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Switzerland]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in the canton of Bern]]
[[Category:Waterfalls of Switzerland]]
[[Category:Aare basin|WReichenbach]]