Reichenbach Falls

The Reichenbach Falls (German: Reichenbachfall) are a series of waterfalls on the Reichenbach stream in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. They have a total drop of 250 metres (820 ft). At 90 metres (300 ft), the Upper Reichenbach Falls is one of the highest cataracts in the Alps. Today, a hydro-electric 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 falls as the location of the final confrontation of his hero Sherlock Holmes with his greatest foe, the criminal Professor Moriarty in "The Final Problem".

Location

The falls are located in the lower part of the Reichenbachtal valley, on the Reichenbach stream, a tributary of the Aar river. They are some 2 km (1.2 mi) south of the town of Meiringen, and 25 km (16 mi) east of Interlaken. Politically, the falls are within the municipality of Schattenhalb in the canton of Bern.

The falls are made accessible by the Reichenbachfall funicular. The lower station is some 20 minutes walk, or a 6 minute bus ride, from Meiringen station on the Brünig railway line that links Interlaken and Lucerne.

The Reichenbach Fall

"The Reichenbach Fall" is the third and final episode of the second series of the BBC television series Sherlock. It was written by Stephen Thompson and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson, and Andrew Scott as Jim Moriarty. The episode deals with Moriarty's attempt to undermine the public's view of Sherlock and drive him to suicide. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC One HD on 15 January 2012. It attracted 9.78 million viewers, and critical reaction to the episode was positive. After the episode was aired, there was also much online and media speculation, which are focused on Sherlock's death.

Inspired by "The Final Problem" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the episode follows Moriarty's plot to discredit and kill Sherlock Holmes, also heavily using elements from the film The Woman in Green. The title alludes to the Reichenbach Falls, the location where Holmes and Moriarty supposedly fall to their deaths in the original story. Some sequences in the episode that are set at the Tower of London were filmed at Cardiff Castle. Other locations used include Newport Cemetery, Tredegar House and Cardiff City Hall, as well as other areas around Cardiff including Broadway and Cardiff Bay.

Reichenbach

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Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes (/ˈʃɜːrlɒk ˈhoʊmz/) is a fictional character created by British author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A London-based "consulting detective" whose abilities border on the fantastic, Holmes is known for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science to solve difficult cases. The character first appeared in print in 1887, and was featured in four novels and 56 short stories by Conan Doyle, as well as later works by other authors. The first novel, A Study in Scarlet, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual in 1887 and the second, The Sign of the Four, in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character's popularity grew with the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine, beginning with "A Scandal in Bohemia" in 1891; additional short-story series and two novels (published in serial form) appeared from then to 1927. The events in the stories take place from about 1880 to 1914.

All but four stories are narrated by Holmes's friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson. Two are narrated by Holmes himself ("The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" and "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane"), and two others are written in the third person ("The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" and "His Last Bow"). In two stories ("The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual" and "The Adventure of the Gloria Scott"), Holmes tells Watson the story from memory, with Watson narrating the frame story. The first and fourth novels, A Study in Scarlet and The Valley of Fear, include long passages of omniscient narrative of events unknown to either Holmes or Watson.