Atlantropa was a gigantic engineering and colonisation idea that was devised by the German architect Herman Sörgel in the 1920s. Its central feature was a hydroelectric dam to be built across the Strait of Gibraltar. It would have led to the lowering of the surface of the Mediterranean Sea by up to 200 metres, opening up large new lands for settlement, such as in the Adriatic Sea.
About Atlantropa in brief
Atlantropa was a gigantic engineering and colonisation idea that was devised by the German architect Herman Sörgel in the 1920s. Its central feature was a hydroelectric dam to be built across the Strait of Gibraltar. It would have led to the lowering of the surface of the Mediterranean Sea by up to 200 metres, opening up large new lands for settlement, such as in the Adriatic Sea. Critics derided it for various faults, ranging from lack of any co-operation of Mediterranean countries in the planning to the impacts that it would have had on the historic coastal communities that would be stranded inland when the sea receded. After World II, interest was piqued again as Western Allies sought to create closer bonds with their colonies in Africa in an attempt to combat Marxist influence.
Most proposals to the dam have focused on the potential of such a project and do not envisage any substantial lowering of sea level. A new idea, involving a new tension fabric stretched between North Africa and Europe, stretched the cost of the project and stretched the fabric of Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. It remained in existence until 1960, although it was politically unfeasible and technologically unfeasibly although the Atlantropan Institute remained inexistence until 1960.
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This page is based on the article Atlantropa published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 30, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
