page_title: Meiringen
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Meiringen / History
caption_attribution_description: Meiringen, Switzerland im Oberhasli um 1900 Deutsch: Meiringen um 1900 Eesti: Meiringen umbes 1900
context_page_description: Meiringen is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Besides the village of Meiringen, the municipality includes the settlements of Balm, Brünigen, Eisenbolgen, Hausen, Prasti, Sand, Stein, Unterbach, Unterheidon, Wylerli and Zaun.
  Meiringen is famous for the nearby Reichenbach Falls, a spectacular waterfall that was the setting for the final showdown between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis Professor Moriarty. The village is also known for its claim to have been the place where the meringue was first created.
  The municipal coat of arms shows a black eagle in a yellow field.
  Formerly the coat of arms of the entire Oberhasli Talschaft, this design continues the imperial coat of arms.
context_section_description: Meiringen is first mentioned in 1234 as Magiringin. Due to its strategic location at the foot of several alpine passes, the area around Meiringen was settled at least in the Early Middle Ages. The first village church was built in the 9th or 10th century. When it was destroyed in a flood the new church of St. Michael (first mentioned in 1234) was built about 5 m (16 ft) above the old church. The current church of St. Michael dates from the 15th century and was renovated in 1683–84. The Restiturm castle was constructed in the 13th century, whilst the Wyghus fortress in the Brünig Pass was first mentioned in 1333, though it was destroyed later.
  Meiringen was always the political capital of the surrounding valley (Talschaft). It was the capital of the Imperial reichsfrei bailiwick of Hasli. In 1275 it formed an alliance with the city of Bern. In 1311, Hasli was given to the house of Weissenburg by Henry VII. After an unsuccessful revolt in 1334, Hasli passed to the city of Bern as a subject territory in name but regained most of its earlier privileges. Under Bernese control it was the capital of the District of Oberhasli until 1798. Following the 1798 French invasion and the creation of the Helvetic Republic it was the capital of the district of Oberhasli in the Canton of Oberland (1798–1803) and then the capital of the District of Oberhasli in the canton of Bern. The village was the home of the Talschaft council and the regional court met at the cross street in front of the churchyard. Today it is still home to the Bernese District authorities, though many of the administrative offices and the district court are now in Interlaken.
  Meiringen was the only market town in the valley with a yearly fair starting in 1417. In 1490 this became a weekly market. Traders from the lowlands of Lombardy came here to purchase cattle, horses, and cheese. Located at the foot of Brunig, Grimsel, Susten and Joch passes, Meiringen was a hub in the trade from the lowlands through the passes. Outside of Meiringen village the main occupation was agriculture or cattle farming until the 19th century. Originally there were six Bäuert (farming collectives) among the villages and hamlets in the valley.
  In the 1550s, a series of floods of the Aare destroyed the valley floor villages of Balm and Bürglen, both of which were abandoned. The old village of Unterheid was destroyed in 1762 when the Aare changed its course, though the village was rebuilt in a new location. In 1734 the Alpbach wall was built to protect against the river, though this problem was not solved until the 1866–80 Aare water correction project.
  The population growth after 1800 led to impoverishment and forced many to emigrate, mainly to America. Beginning in 1880, the growth of tourism brought new wealth into the valley. Increasing tourist traffic came over the roads that were opened over the Brünig (1859–61), the Grimsel (1847–94) and the Susten (1939–46) passes. The Brünigbahn (Brünig railway) opened in 1888, making it easier for tourists to come into the valley. Following fires in 1879 and 1891, much of the village was rebuilt with tourists in mind. In 1913 Meiringen had 18 hotels with 500 beds. In 1912, the Meiringen–Reichenbach–Aareschlucht tramway was constructed to link the village to the Reichenbach Falls and Aare Gorge, two of the principle local tourist attractions; the line survived until closure in 1956.
  In 1892 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle visited the Reichenbach Falls outside Meiringen and subsequently used them as the setting for the struggle between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty in his story The Final Problem.
  During World War II, the tourism industry collapsed, so the Federal Government created jobs by opening the Unterbach military airfield; the federal armory; the SBB depot; the power plants at Oberhasli AG and in hospitals. The municipal museum was founded in 1968 and the Sherlock Holmes Museum opened in 1991.
caption: Meiringen in 1900
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