Johann Gottfried Tulla

Johann Gottfried Tulla (20 March 1770, in Karlsruhe – 27 March 1828, in Paris) was a German engineer who accomplished the straightening of the Rhine, improving navigation and alleviating the effects of flooding. His measures gave the Upper Rhine a completely new appearance. The river was deepened and channelled between embankments which narrowed the channels to a width of 200 to 250 m (660 to 820 ft); new sections were dug to straighten out its meandering course, and numerous small islands were removed. The effect was to reduce the river's length between Basel and Worms from 355 to 275 km (221 to 171 mi).^[1] However, the straightening of the Upper Rhine had increased the streaming speed and thus permanently raised the flood risk in the regions of the Middle and the Lower Rhine,^[2] partial floodplain restoration is still performed in a joint program of Germany and France.

Career

Tulla began his training in 1792 with

Tulla died of the consequences of malaria in 1828 and was buried in the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris. His gravestone shows the "Altrip corner," one of the technically most difficult sections of the Rhine straightening, near the village of Altrip in the Palatinate.

References