The Reichenbach Falls (Reichenbachfall) are a series of waterfalls on the River Aar near Meiringen in the Canton of Bern in central Switzerland, Europe. 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. The falls are made accessible by the Reichenbachfall funicular.
Today, a hydro-electric power company harnesses the flow of the Reichenbach Falls during certain times of year, greatly reducing its flow.
In popular literature, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave the falls as the location of the final fight of hero Sherlock Holmes with his nemesis Professor Moriarty.
Famous quotes containing the words reichenbach and/or falls:
“The predicate of truth-value of a proposition, therefore, is a mere fictive quality; its place is in an ideal world of science only, whereas actual science cannot make use of it. Actual science instead employs throughout the predicate of weight.”
—Hans Reichenbach (1891–1953)
“O how wretched
Is that poor man that hangs on princes’ favours!
There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have,
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)