Sherlock Holmes in Meiringen

8 February 2022

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) created the private detective Sir Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is known for his proficiency in observation, forensic science, and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic he employs when investigating cases for various clients, including Scotland Yard.

His methods were not just fiction but practical, visionary and effective, and they paved the way for modern investigation techniques and methods.

Meiringen (canton of Bern) is the village of the famous and deadly fight between Sherlock Holmes and his archenemy, Professor James Moriarty, in 1891, although more deadly for Moriarty.

Three years after the fight at the Reichenbach Fall, when all believed both had died, Holmes returned to his fictional life.

The public was so disappointed, upset and angry about his death that Conan Doyle wrote him back to life in 1894, presuming that he had survived but had taken the opportunity to travel and think about his future.

Soon after, Holmes and Watson resumed their adventures on Bakerstraat 221 B in Londen. Conan Doyle chose Meiringen because the village was well known to British readers (mainly because of tourism). The landscape, mountains and waterfalls offered the ideal setting for his stories.

Meiringen had Grand Hotels, and the village was among the first to build an English Church in Switzerland in 1867. Today, the church houses the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

(Source and further information: www.sherlockholmes.ch).