LAUTERBRUNNEN (SWITZERLAND)

Lauterbrunnen is a picturesque village located in the valley of the Bernese Oberland, not that far from the Interlaken, in Switzerland.
Lauterbrunnen, that is surrounded by mountains, cliffs and waterfalls, became the prototype of the fairy-tale World of elves in the movie "The Lord of the Rings".
Lauterbrunnen Valley (Lauterbrunnental) is one of the deepest in the Alpine chain when compared with the height of the mountains that rise directly on either side. It is a true cleft, rarely more than one kilometer in width, between limestone precipices, sometimes quite perpendicular, everywhere of extreme steepness. It is often called the Valley of the 72 Waterfalls; it is not surprising that the name, Lautr Brunnen, which means “Loud Waterfall” or “Loud Fountain” from German. These waterfalls, which plunge from the 300-meter-high cliffs, are among the highest free-falling waterfalls in Europe.
In 1779, Johann Wolfgang Goethe visited this valley and, under the impression of a roaring waterfall, subsequently wrote his famous poem “The Song of the Spirits over the Waters”.