05/30/2026
I was there in 1979. I wonder if it’s still the same, because of climate change and the Rhine carrying less water.
Europe’s biggest waterfall, the Rhine Falls on the Swiss–German border. A natural spectacle at its most impressive from May to June as the winter snows melt, filling the Rhine with water... http://bit.ly/40EAKCM
Close to the Swiss city of Schaffhausen, and a tourist attraction for centuries, the Rheinfall are around 15.000 years old, created by tectonic shifts during the Ice age, while 'die Rheinfallfelsen', the large rock in the centre, dates back 132,000 years.
A remnant of limestone cliffs that edged the original channel.
And a medieval fortress stands on a cliff spur overlooking the falls, as it has since first documented in 858 AD. Schloss Laufen, its name coming from the one used at the time for Der Rheinfall, "Grosses Lauffen" - "big falls".
In the north of Switzerland 🇨🇭, Schloss Laufen is one of many European castles that has lived through turbulent times, social and political upheavals, and conflicts.
Including its besieged inhabitants forced to flee from their enemies by swimming across the choppy river in 1449.
Photo credit: rheinfall.ch