Johann Gottfried Tulla

Who was Johann Gottfried Tulla?

Johann Gottfried Tulla was a German engineer, who in the nineteenth century 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 channeled between embankments, new sections were dug to straighten out the river's original meandering course, and numerous small islands were removed. The effect was to reduce the river's length between Basel and Worms from 355 km to 275 km. The straightening of the upper Rhine dramatically increased the flood risk in the region of the middle and lower Rhine.