Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Swiss Alps

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Tolkien’s Rivendell inspiration. Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Swiss Alps

For Tolkien Reading Day, we’re visiting the Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Swiss Alps, which is believed to have inspired the Elven sanctuary of Rivendell in JRR Tolkien’s novels The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Like Tolkien's mythical Elf settlement, Lauterbrunnen Valley has a bit of storybook appeal, with an unusually narrow valley floor hemmed in by steep Alpine cliffs and dotted with numerous waterfalls. The valley remains a popular tourist destination.

The Tolkien Society organised the first Tolkien Reading Day in 2003 to celebrate and promote his works. They selected 25 March as it is the day that the Dark Lord Sauron was defeated, and the Black Tower destroyed in The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien’s writing continues to provide fodder for various entertainment forms, with Amazon’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuting in 2022.