The 1899 funicular
A historic red climb to the lip of the falls.
Paul Hermans — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rijksmuseum — CC0 · Rijksmuseum — CC0 · Thisisbossi — CC BY-SA 2.5
The falls are handsome and the historic funicular fun, but its greatest value is literary — anyone indifferent to the story may find it ordinary next to the region's other waterfalls (Staubbach, Giessbach and Trümmelbach are more spectacular). Combine it with the neighbouring **Aare Gorge** (walkways inside a narrow rock cleft, genuinely striking) and the half-day becomes unquestionably worthwhile.
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The Reichenbach Falls are a chain of seven cascades dropping 250 metres through a rock gorge above the town of Meiringen — a powerful sight in itself, but their global fame is literary: **this is where Arthur Conan Doyle killed Sherlock Holmes**. In "The Final Problem" (1893) Holmes and his enemy Professor Moriarty grapple at the edge of the falls and fall together, because Doyle wanted rid of his character — until readers' fury forced him to bring Holmes back. A historic red funicular (1899) climbs from the valley floor, and at the upper station a **white star painted on the rock** marks the supposed spot of the struggle, with paths and a bridge suspended over the gorge. The town of Meiringen itself has a Sherlock Holmes museum and a statue of him. For the literary-minded: an enjoyable small pilgrimage. For everyone else: a fine waterfall, a historic funicular and a short walk. Combine it with the nearby Aare Gorge for a half-day east of the region. Meiringen also claims to be the birthplace of the **meringue**.
A historic red climb to the lip of the falls.
A white mark on the rock at the "spot of the struggle".
The Sherlock Holmes museum and statue in town.
3860 Meiringen, Bern