Meiringen is located in the eastern Bernese Oberland region, in the Haslital on the upper reaches of the river Aare, upstream of Lake Brienz. It lies at the foot of several mountain passes, including the Brunig Pass to the valley of the Sarner Aa and hence central Switzerland, the Joch Pass to Engelberg, the Susten Pass to the upper valley of the Reuss, the Grimsel Pass to the valley of the Rhone and hence southern Switzerland, and the Grosse Scheidegg Pass to Grindelwald.
On the right bank of the Aare, the municipality of Meiringen rises from an elevation of 600 m (2,000 ft) on the valley floor to the Brunig Pass at 1,008 m (3,307 ft) and beyond that to a point at 1,375 m (4,511 ft) on the slopes of the Wilerhorn. On the left bank it stretches up into the Alps and reaches an elevation of 3,191 m (10,469 ft) at the summit of the Wellhorn. It includes the village of Meiringen and the settlements of Sand, Stein, Eisenbolgen, Hausen, Balm, Unterbach and Unterheidon in the valley, the village of Brunigen in the Brunig Pass and the hamlets of Prasti, Zaun and Wylerli on the slopes above the valley.
Meiringen is famous for the nearby Reichenbach Falls, a spectacular waterfall that was the setting for the fictional presumed death of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes. The village is also known for its claim to have been the place where the meringue was first created.
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