Rhine Falls

The Rhine Falls are located between the Swiss Plateau and Table Jura. The waterfall was formed during the last ice age, approximately 14,000 to 17,000 years ago, by erosion-resistant rocks narrowing the riverbed. The first glacial advances created today's landforms approximately 500,000 years ago. Up to the end of the Wolstonian Stage, approximately 132,000 years ago, the Rhine flowed westwards from Schaffhausen through the Klettgau valley. This earlier riverbed later filled up with gravel. About 132,000 years ago the course of the river changed southwards at Schaffhausen and formed a new channel, which also filled up with gravel. Part of the Rhine today includes this ancient riverbed. During the Würm glaciation, the Rhine was pushed far to the south to its present course, over a hard Late Jurassic limestone bed. As the river flowed over both the hard limestone and the easily eroded gravel from previous glaciations, formed the waterfall. The , a large rock in the middle of the falls, is the remnant of the original limestone cliff flanking the former channel. The rock has eroded very little over the years because relatively little sediment comes down the Rhine from Lake Constance. The rock of the is ca. 150 million years old. On the Zurich side of the waterfall there is a deep and 6 metres wide karst cave, which was the last time visible in April 1921 when the Rhine had low water levels. The cave is about 50 million years old. The formation of the Rhine Falls is shown in a permanent exhibition at the Museum zu Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen. File:Rheinfall - Neuhausen am Rheinfall 2010-06-24 19-17-28.JPG|The Rhine Falls and Rheinfallfelsen seen from the Rhine File:RheinfallSchaffhausen.JPG|Aerial view of the Rhine Falls in 2008 ==Economics==

The north side of the falls is a millsite. In the 17th century, a blast furnace for smelting iron ore found in the limestone was built. It was in operation until the first half of the 19th century. In 1887, the ironworks applied for permission to divert between one fifth to one half of the river's flow for electricity generation. The Swiss Alpine Club, the (a nature group) and several scientific societies opposed the plan. In 1913, an international competition was held for the best plan for a shipping route between the city of Basel and Lake Constance (). In 1919, a company wanting to build power stations in northern Switzerland were told that any such station at the Rhine Falls "must serve the economic interest of the public". In 1944, the Swiss Council of States granted permission to build the proposed power station. The permission was to become effective on 1 February 1948, with construction to begin in 1952. But in 1951, the Neue Helvetische Gesellschaft (), under the leadership of Emil Egli, got 150,000 Swiss citizens to sign a petition protesting the project; among the signatories were 49 famous citizens, including Hermann Hesse and Carl Jacob Burckhardt. The petition not only scuttled the power station project, but effectively prevented all future hydropower and navigation engineering projects on the upper Rhine to the present day. Today, the falls are still under consideration for hydropower projects. If the full water flow were used, the power generated would average approximately 50 MW. The economic value of the falls as a tourist attraction may be greater. ==Tourism==

People have visited the Rhine Falls since the Middle Ages, with an increase in frequency during the Age of Enlightenment, often as part of a person's educational journey. From the mid-19th century until World War I, the waterfall became a popular holiday destination, which led to the building of hotels nearby (of which none survived to the present). Following a time of mass tourism after World War II, with up to 3 million visitors annually, the number of tourists declined subsequently, with 1.3 million tourists counted in 2014. Most visits are day trips, while longer stays are rare. and Laufen-Uhwiesen, with the Laufen Castle () overlooking the waterfall. Access to the other side of the river is possible through boat services or via a sidewalk on the railway bridge () upstream of the waterfall. The nearby town of Schaffhausen is known for its medieval town centre, the All Saints monastery and the Munot fortress. Aside from boat tours to the Rhine Falls' rock (), there are also viewing platforms with views on the waterfall built on both sides of the Rhine. These are reached via steep and narrow stairs (access by fee on the side). Elevators exist in some places. Guided tours of various lengths start from Laufen Castle on the Zurich side of the falls – a youth hostel is also located in . Various restaurants are located in , and the Rheinfall park next to the basin. ==Transport==

Public transport in Switzerland is famous for its density and its coordination between services (trains, buses and boats) due to the clock-face schedule. There are several train stations near the Rhine Falls. The closest ones, within walking distance, are on the northern side of the waterfall and on the southern banks of the river. Both stations are serviced by S-Bahn trains only. The town of Neuhausen has two additional S-Bahn railway stations, and Neuhausen Bad Bf, which are both further away from the Rhine Falls. , the largest railway station in the area, is even farther away (ca. ), but can be reached by frequent bus services operated by Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen (VBSH) and PostAuto, respectively. The closest bus stops in walking distance to the waterfall are Neuhausen, Industrieplatz, Neuhausen, Zentrum (Neuhausen town centre), and Schloss Laufen, Rheinfall (near Laufen Castle). Trains and buses operate within the fare zone 116 of ZVV in the canton of Zurich, and fare zones 810 and 821 of the in the cantons of Schaffhausen and Zurich. , the following services exist from/to railway stations near the Rhine Falls: Train train arriving at station with elevators to the Rhine Falls ;InterCity (IC), combined hourly service • From/to : / IC 87: two-hourly service between and / ;RegioExpress / Regional-Express (RE) • From/to : : hourly service between and (calling also at and ) • From/to Schaffhausen: : hourly service between and Friedrichshafen-Hafen ;Zurich S-Bahn • From/to : : hourly service between and via • From/to : / : combined half-hourly service between and . The continues from Winterthur to and • From/to /: : hourly service between and . This service continues from Winterthur to , and ;Schaffhausen S-Bahn • From/to : : half-hourly service between and Schaffhausen • From/to Neuhausen Badischer Bahnhof: : half-hourly service between and • From/to : : hourly service between and (half-hourly service combined with of Zurich S-Bahn) ;St. Gallen S-Bahn • From/to : : half-hourly service between and Schaffhausen (via , and ) Bus buses at railway station ;Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen (VBSH) Line 1 (until December 2025 operated by trolleybuses) is the most direct bus service between Schaffhausen railway station and the Rhine Falls (direction: Herbstäcker). • : every 10 minutes between Waldfriedhof and Herbstäcker (via ), calling at bus stops Neuhausen Zentrum and Neuhausen, Kreuzstrasse (near Badischer Bahnhof) • : every 10–20 minutes between and SBB, calling at bus stops Neuhausen, Kreuzstrasse, Neuhausen Zentrum and Neuhausen, Industrieplatz • : half-hourly to hourly service between and Beggingen, calling at Neuhausen, Kreuzstrasse bus stop ;PostAuto • '''': hourly service between and Schloss Laufen, Rheinfall'' Boat During warmer seasons, frequent boat trips are offered from the Rhine Falls basin to one of the rocks in the middle of the waterfall (). There are no boat lines between the Rhine Falls and Schaffhausen (or any other town south of the Rhine Falls), but from April to October there are regular boat services along the scenic High Rhine () between Schaffhausen and Kreuzlingen (Lake Constance), via Konstanz,operated by the Schweizerische Schifffahrtsgesellschaft Untersee und Rhein (URh). Frequent bus services (vbsh lines , , ) operate between (bus stop has the same name) and Schaffhausen railway station. There is also a trackless train () running directly between the Rhine Falls and during the warmer season. Private transport The Rhine Falls are easily accessible by car, coach, or bicycle. Large pay-parking lots are located on both sides of the falls. The nearest exits on the A4 motorway are Uhwiesen/Rheinfall or Schaffhausen Süd. The Rhine Falls are located on Swiss National Bike Route 2 (Rhine Route). == History ==

Tourists have been awed by the Rhine Falls for centuries. In the 19th century, the painter J. M. W. Turner made several studies and larger paintings of the falls, and the lyrical poet Eduard Mörike wrote of the falls: : Fall of the Rhine at Schaffhausen (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) :Halte dein Herz, o Wanderer, fest in gewaltigen Händen! : Mir entstürzte vor Lust zitternd das meinige fast. :Rastlos donnernde Massen auf donnernde Massen geworfen, : Ohr und Auge, wohin retten sie sich im Tumult? :(Hold your heart, oh traveller, tightly in mighty hands! :Mine nearly collapsed, shivering with pleasure. :Restlessly thundering masses thrown upon thundering masses, :Ear and eye, whither can they save themselves in such an uproar?) In 1840, author Mary Shelley visited the Falls while on a tour of Europe with her son. She described her visit in a travel narrative that she published in 1844, Rambles in Germany and Italy. She says: "A portion of the cataract arches over the lowest platform, and the spray fell thickly on us, as standing on it and looking up, we saw wave, and rock, and cloud, and the clear heavens through its glittering ever-moving veil. This was a new sight, exceeding anything I had ever before seen; however, not to be wet through, I was obliged quickly to tear myself away." ==Gallery==

File:Philip James de Loutherbourg - The Falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen.jpg|The Falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen by Philip James de Loutherbourg, 1788 Image:Rheinfall_Panorama_revised.jpg|Panorama of the Rhine Falls, April 2010 File:Rheinfall IMG 3772.JPG|A tourist boat near the falls Rhine Falls, close-up.jpg|Close-up of the falls. File:Rheinfall - Schloss Wörth IMG 3787 ShiftN.jpg|Wörth Castle File:Rheinfall (Steg).jpg|Observation deck on the Zürich side File:Rheinfall_Panorama_Switzerland.jpg|Rheinfall Panorama File:Rheinfall LCD.jpg|Long exposure photograph of the Rhine Falls with Laufen Castle in the background ==See also==