thumb|right|The Grand Reichenbach Fall at night

Reichenbach Falls () is a waterfall in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland, In literature, the upper Great Reichenbach Fall is the location of the final altercation between 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 . It loses of height from the top of the falls to the valley floor of the Haslital. A hydroelectric power company harnesses the flow of the Reichenbach Falls during certain times of year, reducing its flow.

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 south of the town of Meiringen, and Interlaken. Politically, the falls are within the municipality of Schattenhalb in the canton of Bern.

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. 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.

The indie band Ravens & Chimes named its debut album (released in 2007) after the falls.

Another indie band, Racing Mount Pleasant (formerly Kingfisher), has a song named after the falls on its 2022 debut album.

Many adaptations of Sherlock Holmes have featured the confrontation at Reichenbach, notably including the Granada Television series, starring Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes. The Granada adaptation of The Final Problem, with 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 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.

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 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 features a villain named Odin Reichenbach. The second-last episode, in which the character meets justice, is titled "Reichenbach Falls".

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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

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See also

  • List of waterfalls
  • List of waterfalls in Switzerland

References

  • Reichenbach Funiclar
  • Photos from the Sherlock Holmes Society of London
  • "Reichenbach Falls", BBC Four Film & Drama