Elbe is among the true European rivers which not only carry but have also been linking cultural spaces, unifying Europe in many ways. The Elbe has been performing the function of a major waterway in the central European region for centuries.
River Elbe begins in the Czech Republic, then passing through the German lands and then finally flows into the North Sea. The point of origin of the river is situated in the mountains of Krkonoše or the Giant mountains, as they are popularly known. The Krkonoše are they located near to the borders between Czech Republic and Poland.
River Elbe also while flowing passes through the Bohemian or the north-western Czech Republic. Further down it turns and forms a rather wide arc across Bohemia or the northwestern Czech Republic. It is then that the Elbe moves into the German lands from a distance of 25 miles or 40 kilometres from Dresden. The Elbe also splits into two branches right above Hamburg and these branches when they flow further downstream they get joined again while at the same time broadening into its estuary. The mouth of this estury is located at Cuxhaven, the same point wherefrom it flows into North Sea.
The river measures a complete length of 1165 kilometres or 724 miles. About one third of the river passes through the Czech Republic and the remaining two thirds is in Germany. Among the major tributaries of the Elbe are: Vltava or Moldau, Ohře or Eger, Mulde, Saale, Schwarze or the Black, Elster, Havel, and Alster.
The physiography of the river Elbe
Formation of any river requires some headwater streams and so is the case with the Elbe. You can find its numerous headwater streams in the Krkonoše Mountains. The Krkonoše Mountains are located at a distance of just a few miles from the Polish-Czech frontier.
The river Elbe rather intriguingly flows south and west while forming wide arcs. This arc formation continues further for a total of roughly 225 miles within the Czech Republic. Here in the Czech region it fuses with the Vltava at Mělník. Then while further flowing downstream, reaching a distance of about 18 miles from the point of the previous confluence it also joins the Ohfe. From this point on the Elbe veers towards the northwest passing through the picturesque Elbe Sandstone Mountains. Then it moves into a gorge which is four miles long right before entering Germany.
Within the German lands, in a section located between Dresden and Magdeburg the Elbe is welcomed by many long tributaries. Amongst these tributaries all but the Schwarze Elster follow the left bank stream. Origins of these left bank streamed tributaries are located in the Ore Mountains or the Thuringian Forest region. The geographical foci of the Elbe are in the Halle and Leipzig. Most of the tributaries rise in the uplands of Mecklenburg.
About 25 miles below Dresden is Riesa from where the Elbe enters the North German plain. It flows below Riesa where it further forms a wide floodplain. The region between Wittenberg and Dessau is where the valley floors of the east and west narrows town to a point where it reaches a width of mere five miles. In the northern side you will see the hilly land rise. The floodplains begin to further widen from Dessau to Magdeburg. You will also be able to see dikes being constructed from here to further down to the sea. While on its course the Elbe also forms a floodplain which is about two miles wide. This floodplain is located below the confluence with the Havel. From the Havel the river moves further down and moves from the southeast to the northwest. As a result the floodplain widens and forms many distributaries and backwaters which are often flanked by low sandy hills or geest as they are usually known. There are these reclaimed salt marshes which begin at Lauenburg. The Elbe transverses into two separate streams – the Norder Elbe and the Suder Elbe, this division takes place right above Hamburg. Here the floodplains are eight miles wide but narrow down to four miles when it reaches the sandy geest of Schleswig-Holstein and the Lüneburg Heath.
River Elbs’ estuary or the unterelbe covers an area that expands from Hamburg to Cuxhaven. The total area reaches roughly to about 55 miles. However, its width does vary from one to two miles on an average. Most of the area is occupied by mud flats and sandbanks. The main channel which reaches these plains is buoyed and dredged. High tides frequent these plains and at that time the depths in this region reaches 53 feet or 16 metres. Southern side or the left bank is characterised by low and marshy features, also the river has sandbanks. On the other hand, the right side of the bank is much steeper and is below the levels of Hamburg. If one goes further down the stream then there come the marshes, diked and drained. This area is particularly fertile and therefore much of the cultivation takes place here. Hamburg, the great German port city was able to thus prosper and grow on the banks fo the river Alster. Today, you can find characteristic modern facilities and utilities swarming the river side spread of the southern bank of the river Elbe.
Elbe flows through the city of Hamburg and meets with the Hanseatic city then flows into the North Sea. You can take many routes and methods and then explore the river and its sights. As far as the very existence of Hamburg is concerned, the city would not have come to existence without the river Elbe. Originating high up in the Czech mountains and crossing two other German state capitals, Dresden and Magdeburg, before passing through the city of Hamburg, eventually reaching the North Sea at Cuxhaven.
The hydrology
Flow of water into the Elbe varies considerably throughout its journey from the Czech Republic up towards the North Sea. Also, there are implications due to the amount of precipitation and thawing in its drainage basin areas. For instance take the example of Dresden. Here the river receives discharges at an average rate of 11,200 cubic feet or 317 cubic metres per second from the period between the years 1931 to 1975. The interesting point to note here is that these discharges, their average rate also varied from being as low as 800 cubic feet to reaching a maximum of a whopping 118,700 cubic feet. At another instance, about 140 miles from the mouth of the river, at New-Darchau, the rate of discharge was measured to be 24,700 cubic feet per second. This was measured in the period between 1926 and 1965. In the same period the minimum average discharge was measured to be 5100 cubic feet per second whereas the maximum was measured at 127,700 cubic feet per second.
The above mentioned variations have been noted to cause severe navigational problems. However, with the many dams that was constructed on the upper Elbe, in the Czech Republic region and at Geesthacht. You can find large sized dams on the Vltava and also on the Saale in the Thuringian Forest. Occasionally, these dams do not seem to be sufficient to control the water levels in the Elbe. Now, towards the lower course of the Elbe, the river takes a tidal course and reaches the dam at Geesthacht, above Hamburg. The river here flows in the reverses periodically. On an average these tides reach a height of about 8 feet. Interestingly, at the time of storms this very water reaches ginormous proportions and sometimes even the city gets flooded.
The river has been supporting the local economy:
River Elbe has been a source of economic prosperity for not only the cities that are located on the banks of the river Elbe but also for the entire German region. All of this was possible because of the waterway connections which facilitated the navigation of various vessels from Hamburg to Berlin. This network connected the southern and eastern sections of Germany together. Among the other regions that could be connected were the industrial towns of Osnabrück, Hannover, Salzgitter, Hildesheim, Peine, and Wolfsburg along with the cannal network through which the rivers Weser and Rhine were also interlinked to facilitate trade and tourism.
The Elbe–Havel Canal for instance carried the load of traffic towards the eastern side where Magdeburg was situated. This network further reached Poland by going around Berlin. Kiel Canal started from the very mouth of the Elbe, running towards the Baltic Sea. Elbe–Lübeck Canal began from Lauenburg and then moved towards the Baltic Sea. This route was in-fact based on the 14th century canal construction. There is also a canal network which runs on the Weser River which connects the lower Elbe to Bremerhaven. The Vltava network is alone responsible for facilitating the movement of baggage’s worth 1000 tonnes from as far as Prague. The river network is also interlinked in the Eastern German side through the major ports such as that of – Magdeburg, Schönebeck, Aken, Dessau, Torgau, Riesa, and Dresden. On this network you can find carriers transporting bituminous coal, lignite, coke, metal, potash, grain, and piece goods. Hamburg is one of the largest and important ports in the whole of Europe. It is equipped with a six line railway tunnel along with multilane road tunnels which pass right under the Elbe. This links with the trans-European traffic network allowing a further outreach.
The history of the Elbe
There have been evidences which support that settlements have been coming and going in the river basin created by the Elbe since pre-historic times. During the Middle Ages, the Elbe performed the function of a border which was inhabited by the northern Slavs. When we come to the 12th century colonisation of the area began by the Germans. Its function and role in shaping European history continued down the many centuries.
During the time of World War II a certain post near to Torgau on the Elbe was regarded to be the meeting place for the Soviet and the U.S. armies. The Elbe from the point of the end of the war till the 1990 was characterised as the boundary between East and West Germany.
The water of Elbe has facilitated the conception and sprouting of many cities along its banks. One of the most important cities along its route is Hamburg which dates back to the 9th century. Lübeck was another city which originated in the same manner. Lübeck together with Hamburg formed the Hanseatic League in 1241. Magdeburg is another such ancient city dating back to the 9th century. Back in those days it used to be an important trading post located between the bordering regions of Germans and the Slavs. A few hundred years later, in the 13th century Magdeburg emerged to be immensely prosperous and a flourishing commercial city. It also was an important member of the Hanseatic League. Today, Magdeburg is the largest inland harbour of eastern Germany. Dresden is another important city located on the Elbe which was founded in the year 1200. When the Age of Reason arrived in the 18th century Dresden emerged to a crucial centre for fine arts and became to be known as Florence on the Elbe. The city of Dresden boasts of its much beautiful architecture. Another historically crucial city located on the Elbe is Wittenberg which was the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation. Also, there was the famous porcelain manufacturing town of Meissen which is located on the banks of the river Elbe.
Some of the earlier historical records have shown that river Elbe was written down by Ptolemy as the Albis which in the Germanic language is the word for river.
Following is a list of important cities and sites that can be found along the Elbe
- Hradec Králové
- Pardubice
- Kolín
- Káraný
- Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav
- Mělník
- Litoměřice
- Ústí nad Labem
- Děčín
- Dresden
- Meissen
- Torgau
- Wittenberg
- Dessau
- Magdeburg
- Wittenberge
- Hamburg
- Stade
- Cuxhaven
The journey along the Elbe
There are many ways to discover Germany and Europe largely. One of them is through its many waterways. You can easily find many companies which engage with and provide numerous tour packages in the same regard.
It is through the river Elbe that one can quite literally begin to explore the numerous opulent palaces of the Saxon monarchs. Then go on sailing between the rather dramatized sandstone cliffs of Germany’s Saxon Switzerland. You can find the gorgeous splendours of baroque architecture in Dresden and also witness how the porcelain manufacturing industries create the beautiful cutleries that fancied the imagination of many Germanic aristocrats in Meissenware. Furthermore, you can also go on tracing the footsteps of Martin Luther himself in his very own town of Wittenberg and experience as to how the Protestant Reformation changed Europe forever. The journey can also extend towards the graceful character of Prague and mix with the indulgences of multicultural Berlin.