Herman Sörgel
Encyclopedia
Herman Sörgel was a German
architect. He was the originator of the idea of Atlantropa
—a utopian continent created by damming the Strait of Gibraltar
. His idea called for the damming and thus lowering of the Mediterranean Sea
level and making use of the difference between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic sea levels to generate hydro-electric power. Sorgel's idea to lower sea levels would increase the dry land areas around the Mediterranean.
In 1942, Sörgel was banned from publishing his works by the Nazis.
Born in Regensburg
, Sorgel died shortly after having been struck by a car while on his bicycle en route to a lecture at a German university in Munich. The accident happened on a road "as straight as a die" and the driver of the car was never found.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
architect. He was the originator of the idea of Atlantropa
Atlantropa
Atlantropa, also referred to as Panropa, was a gigantic engineering and colonization project devised by the German architect Herman Sörgel in the 1920s and promulgated by him until his death in 1952...
—a utopian continent created by damming the Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
. His idea called for the damming and thus lowering of the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
level and making use of the difference between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic sea levels to generate hydro-electric power. Sorgel's idea to lower sea levels would increase the dry land areas around the Mediterranean.
In 1942, Sörgel was banned from publishing his works by the Nazis.
Born in Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
, Sorgel died shortly after having been struck by a car while on his bicycle en route to a lecture at a German university in Munich. The accident happened on a road "as straight as a die" and the driver of the car was never found.