Published: 09:44 AM, 07 May 2026
Sherlock Holmes fans recreate fateful duel at Swiss falls
Immaculately dressed in Victorian costume, Sherlock Holmes devotees gathered at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland to recreate the intrepid detective's fateful duel with his nemesis Professor Moriarty, 135 years on.
Captivated by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle's evocative world of villains, sleuths, fog, gas lamps and tweed, around 60 members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London made the pilgrimage to the hallowed destination.
The spectacular scene is where Holmes and Moriarty clashed on a precarious high ledge, apparently falling to their deaths on May 4, 1891.
The group's three-day journey through Holmes-related sites in Switzerland wound up at Meiringen in the Bernese Oberland, for a funicular ride on Sunday up to the thundering Reichenbach Falls, which tumble 120 metres (400 feet) into a pool below.
Hats of all varieties, twirled moustaches, lavish dresses and walking canes abounded, as each came dressed as an individual character from the stories, including the missing rugby player, the king of Bohemia, and Mrs Hudson, Holmes's landlady at 221B Baker Street, London.
"It does transform you, just wearing the clothes, and hunching a bit," said British lawyer Peter Horrocks, top-hatted and clad in black as the sinister crime lord Moriarty.
"This is so atmospheric," he said amid the roar and spray, insisting it "absolutely" brings Sherlockians closer to the story.
Doyle killed off his beloved detective at this spot in his 1893 short story "The Adventure of the Final Problem".
But such was the public outcry, Doyle was forced to resurrect him -- and the affection for Holmes endures to this day.
