main occupation agriculture or cattle farming until the 19th century. Originally there were six B�uert (farming collectives) among the villages and hamlets in the valley.
In the 1550s, a series of Aare floods destroyed the valley floor villages of Balm and B�rglen, both of which were abandoned. The old village of Unterheid was destroyed in 1762 when the Aare changed its course, though the village was rebuilt at a new location. In 1734 the Alpbach wall was built to protect against the river, though this problem was not solved until the 1866-80 Aare water correction project.
The population growth after 1800 led to impoverishment and forced many to emigrate, mainly to America. Beginning in 1880, the boom of tourism brought new wealth into the valley. Increasing tourist traffic came over the Br�nig pass road (1859�61), the Grimsel road (1847�94) and the Susten road (1939�46). The Br�nigbahn (Br�nig railway) opened in 1888 and made it easier for tourists to come into the valley. Following fires in 1879 and 1891, much of the village was rebuilt for tourism. In 1913 Meiringen had 18 hotels with 500 beds. During World War II, the tourism industry almost shut down, so the Federal Government created a number of jobs including; the Unterbach military airfield, the federal armory, the SBB depot, the power plants of Oberhasli AG and in hospitals. The municipal museum was founded in 1968 and the Sherlock Holmes Museum opened in 1991
