Elbe Geography Cities And Municipalities At The River Elbe

Elbe rises at an altitude of about 1400m. Of the numerous small streams whose waters compose the infant river, the most important is the Bílé Labe , or White Elbe. After plunging down the 37 miles of the Labský vodopád , the latter stream unites with the steep torrential Malé Labe , and thereafter the united stream of the Elbe pursues a southerly course, emerging from the mountain glens at and continuing on to Pardubice, where it turns sharply to the west. At Kolín some 27 miles further on, it bends gradually towards the north-west.

A little above Brandýs nad Labem it picks up the Jizera and at Melník it has its stream more than doubled in volume by the Vltava, a river which winds northwards through Bohemia. Some miles lower down, at Litomerice, the waters of the Elbe are tinted by the reddish Ohre . Thus augmented, and swollen into a stream 140m wide, the Elbe carves a path through the basaltic mass of the Ceské Stredohorí , churning its way through a deep, narrow rocky gorge. Shortly after crossing the Czech-German frontier, and passing through the sandstone defiles, the stream assumes a north-westerly direction, which on the whole it preserves right to the North Sea.

The river roles rolls through Dresden and finally, beyond Meissen, enters on its long journey across the North German plain passing along the former border of East Germany, touching TorgauTorgau is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the centre of the Torgau-Oschatz and covers about 42km². In 2003, it had 19,031 inhabitants. The town has a hospital and the main industries are glass and ceramics production, WittenbergWittenberg officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg is a town in Germany, in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, at 12°59' east, 51°51' north. It has a population of about 50,000 inhabitants. Wittenberg is interesting chiefly on account of its close connection with Ma, MagdeburgMagdeburg the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, lies on the Elbe river. As of 2004 it had a population of 226,200. History Magdeburg was one of the most important medieval cities of Germany. Emperor Otto I lived during most of his, WittenbergeA town of thirty thousand people on the lower Elbe in the district of Perleberg, land Brandenburg, Germany. The site was marked out in 1239 at Wendischwalde and in 1300 the Saxon king, Otto I, established the settlement. It grew slowly but steadily. The t, and HamburgHamburg is Germany's second largest city (after Berlin) and its principal port. The official name Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg recalls its membership in the mediaeval Hanseatic League and the fact that Hamburg is a city state and one of Germany's sixteen on the way, and gathering into itself the waters of the MuldeThe Mulde is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a tributary of the Elbe and 124 km in length. The river is formed by the confluence of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau) and the Freiberger Mulde (with Freiberg on its banks), bo and SaaleThe Saale is a river of Germany, a tributary of the Elbe, rises between Bayreuth and Hof in the N. of Bavaria, springing out, of the Fichtelgebirge at an altitude of 2390 ft. Course It pursues a winding course in a northerly direction, and after passing t from the west, and those of the Schwarze Elster , HavelFor the Biblical Havel, see Abel. See Vaclav Havel for text about the former Czechoslovak and Czech president. The Havel is a river in Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a tributary of the Elbe river and 341 km in length. Extended by a and Elde from the east. Soon the Elbe reaches HamburgHamburg is Germany's second largest city (after Berlin) and its principal port. The official name Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg recalls its membership in the mediaeval Hanseatic League and the fact that Hamburg is a city state and one of Germany's sixteen, and then passes through Holstein until it becomes merged in the North Sea off Cuxhaven. Near its debauch into the North See it passes Brunsbüttel and the entrance to the Kiel Canal.

2 Cities and municipalities at the river Elbe:

Špindleruv Mlýn , Vrchlabí , Dvur Králové nad Labem , Jaromer , Hradec Králové, Pardubice, Kolín , Podebrady , Nymburk , Lysá nad Labem , Celákovice , Brandýs nad Labem , Stará Boleslav , Neratovice , Melník, Roudnice nad Labem , Litomerice, Lovosice, Ústí nad Labem, Decín, Bad Schandau , Königstein, Pirna, Heidenau , Dresden, Radebeul, Meißen, Riesa , Strehla, Torgau, Lutherstadt Wittenberg , Dessau, Magdeburg, Tangermünde , Wittenberge, Hitzacker , Boizenburg , Lauenburg, Geesthacht , Hamburg, Wedel , Glückstadt, Brunsbüttel, Otterndorf , Cuxhaven.

3 Navigation

The Elbe has been navigable by commercial vessels since 1842, and provides important trade links as far inland as Prague. The river is linked by canals to the industrial areas of Germany and to Berlin. The Elbe-Lübeck Canal links the Elbe to the Baltic Sea, as does the Kiel Canal, whose western entrance is near the mouth of the Elbe.

4 Etymology

Its name means 'river' (cf. Scandinavian älv).

5 History

The Elbe has long been an important delineator of European geography. The Romans knew the river as the Albis; however, they only attempted once to move the Eastern border of their Empire forward from the Rhine to the Elbe, and this attempt failed in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, after which they never seriously tried again. In the Middle Ages it formed the eastern limit of the Empire of Charlemagne. The rivers navigable sections were also essential to the success of the Hanseatic League and much trade was carried on its waters. In 1945 a section of the Elbe was made a section of the border between East and West Germany.

European rivers Labe German rivers

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