The Elbe river basin, comprising the Elbe and its tributaries, has a catchment area of 148,268 square kilometres (57,247 sq mi), the twelfth largest in Europe. The basin spans four countries; however, it lies almost entirely just in two of them, Germany (65.5%) and the Czech Republic (33.7%, covering about two thirds of the nation's territory). On its southeastern edges, the Elbe river basin also comprises small parts ofAustria (0.6%) andPoland (0.2%). The Elbe catchment area is inhabited by 24.4 million people; its biggest cities areBerlin,Hamburg,Prague,Dresden andLeipzig.[1]
Albis orAlbia are old medieval names for the river Elbe
First attested in Latin asAlbis, the nameElbe means "river" or "river-bed" and is nothing more than theHigh German version of a word (*albī) found elsewhere in Germanic; cf.Old Norse river nameElfr,Swedishälv "river",Norwegianelv "river",Old English river nameelf, andMiddle Low Germanelve "river-bed".[2]
The Elbe (Labe) rises on the slopes of Mt.Violík at an elevation of 1,386 metres (4,547 ft) in theGiant Mountains on the northwest borders of the Czech Republic. Of the numerous small streams whose waters compose the infant river. After plunging down the 30 metres (98 ft) of theElbe Falls, the latter stream unites with the steeply torrentialBílé Labe, and thereafter the united stream of the Elbe pursues a southerly course, emerging from the mountain glens atJaroměř, where it receivesÚpa andMetuje.
Here the Elbe enters the vast vale namedPolabí (meaning "land along the Elbe"), and continues on southwards throughHradec Králové (whereOrlice flows in) and then toPardubice, where it turns sharply to the west. AtKolín some 43 kilometres (27 mi) further on, it bends gradually towards the north-west. At the village ofKáraný, a little aboveBrandýs nad Labem, theJizera enters in.
AtMělník its stream is more than doubled in volume by theVltava, a major river which winds northwards throughBohemia. Upstream from theconfluence the Vltava is in fact much longer (434 kilometres (270 mi) against 294 kilometres (183 mi) of the Elbe so far), and has a greater discharge and a largerdrainage basin. Nonetheless, for historical reasons the river retains the name Elbe, also because at the confluence point it is the Elbe that flows through the main, wider valley while the Vltava flows into the valley to meet the Elbe at almost a right angle, and thus appears to be the tributary river.
Some distance lower down, atLitoměřice, the waters of the Elbe are tinted by the reddishOhře. Thus augmented, and swollen into a stream 140 metres (460 ft) wide, the Elbe carves a path through the basaltic mass of theČeské Středohoří, churning its way through a picturesque, deep, narrow and curved rocky gorge.
Shortly after crossing the Czech-German frontier, and passing through the sandstone defiles of theElbe Sandstone Mountains, the stream assumes a north-westerly direction, which on the whole it preserves right to the North Sea.
At Magdeburg there is a viaduct, theMagdeburg Water Bridge, that carries a canal and its shipping traffic over the Elbe and its banks, allowing shipping traffic to pass under it unhindered.
The Middle Elbe in theNorth German Plain near the village ofGorleben. In this section, the river had been part of theIron Curtain between West and East Germany during theCold War. For that reason, the river banks even today look relatively natural and undeveloped. (Photo taken 2011)
From thesluice ofGeesthacht (at kilometre 586) on downstream the Elbe is subject to thetides, the tidal Elbe section is called theUnterelbe (Low Elbe). Soon the Elbe reaches Hamburg. Within the city-state the Unterelbe has a number of branch streams, such asDove Elbe,Gose Elbe,Köhlbrand,Norderelbe (Northern Elbe),Reiherstieg,Süderelbe (Southern Elbe). Some of which have been disconnected for vessels from the main stream by dikes. In 1390 the Gose Elbe (literally in English:shallow Elbe) was separated from the main stream by a dike connecting the two then-islands ofKirchwerder andNeuengamme. The Dove Elbe (literally in English:deaf Elbe) was diked off in 1437/38 at Gammer Ort. Thesehydraulic engineering works were carried out to protect marshlands from inundation, and to improve the water supply of thePort of Hamburg. After the heavy inundation by theNorth Sea flood of 1962 the western section of the Southern Elbe was separated, becoming the Old Southern Elbe, while the waters of the eastern Southern Elbe now merge into the Köhlbrand, which is bridged by theKöhlbrandbrücke, the last bridge over the Elbe before the North Sea.
The Northern Elbe passes theElbe Philharmonic Hall and is then crossed under by theold Elbe Tunnel (Alter Elbtunnel), both in Hamburg's city centre. A bit more downstream, the Low Elbe's two mainanabranches Northern Elbe and the Köhlbrand reunite south ofAltona-Altstadt, a locality of Hamburg. Right after both anabranches reunite, the Low Elbe is passed under by theNew Elbe Tunnel (Neuer Elbtunnel), the last structural road link crossing the river before the North Sea. At the bayMühlenberger Loch in Hamburg at kilometre 634, the Northern Elbe and the Southern Elbe (here now the cut-off meander Old Southern Elbe) used to reunite, which is why the bay is seen as the starting point of theNiederelbe (Lower Elbe). Leaving the city-state the Lower Elbe then passes betweenHolstein and theElbe-Weser Triangle withStade until it flows into the North Sea atCuxhaven. Near its mouth, it passes the entrance to theKiel Canal atBrunsbüttel before itdebouches into the North Sea.
By theTreaty of Versailles the navigation on the Elbe became subject to the International Commission of the Elbe, seated in Dresden.[4] The statute of the commission was signed in Dresden on 22 February 1922.[5] Following articles 363 and 364 of the Treaty of Versailles,Czechoslovakia was entitled to lease its own harbour basin,Moldauhafen in Hamburg. The contract of lease with Germany, and supervised by theUnited Kingdom, was signed on 14 February 1929, ending in 2028. Since 1993 the Czech Republic holds the former Czechoslovak legal position.
Before Germany was reunited, waterway transport in Western Germany was hindered by the fact thatinland navigation to Hamburg had to pass through the German Democratic Republic. The Elbe-Seitenkanal (Elbe Lateral Canal) was built between the West German section of the Mittellandkanal and the Lower Elbe to restore this connection. When the two nations were reunited, works were begun to improve and restore the original links: theMagdeburg Water Bridge now allows large barges to cross the Elbe without having to enter the river. The often low water levels of the Elbe no longer hinder navigation to Berlin.[6]
Zollenspieker Ferry, betweenKirchwerder a part of the Bergedorf borough of Hamburg, and Hoopte, part of the town Winsen (Luhe), in the state of Lower Saxony, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) south-east ofHamburg centre
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The Elbe has long served as an important delineator of European geography. TheRomans knew the river as theAlbis; however, they made only one seriousattempt to move the border of their empire forward from theRhine to the Elbe, and this attempt failed with theBattle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, after which they never seriously tried again. In theMiddle Ages the Elbe formed the eastern limit of theEmpire ofCharlemagne (King of the Franks from 769 to 814). The river's navigable sections were essential to the success of theHanseatic League in theLate Middle Ages, and much trade was carried on its waters.
From the early 6th centurySlavic tribes (known as thePolabian Slavs) settled in the areas east of the rivers Elbe and Saale (which had been depopulated since the 4th century). In the 10th century theOttonian Dynasty (dominant from 919 to 1024) began conquering these lands; a slow process ofGermanization ensued, including theWendish Crusade of 1147.
The Elbe delineated the western parts of Germany from the eastern so-calledEast Elbia, wheresoccage andserfdom were more strict and prevailed longer than westwards of the river, and where feudal lords held bigger estates than in the west. Thus incumbents of huge land-holdings became characterised[when?] as East ElbianJunkers. TheNorthern German area north of the Lower Elbe used to be calledNorth Albingia in the Middle Ages. When the fourLutheranchurch bodies there united in 1977 they chose the nameNorth Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church. Other, administrative units were named after the river Elbe, such as theWestphalianElbedépartement (1807–1813) andLower Elbe département (1810), and the French départementBouches-de-l'Elbe (1811–1814).
On 10 April 1945,General Wenck of the GermanTwelfth Army located to the west of Berlin to guard against the advancing American and British forces. But, as theWestern Front moved eastwards and the Eastern Front moved westwards, the German armies making up both fronts backed towards each other. As a result, the area of control of Wenck's army to his rear and east of the Elbe River had become a vastrefugee camp for Germans fleeing from the approaching Soviet Army. Wenck took great pains to provide food and lodging for these refugees. At one stage, the Twelfth Army was estimated to be feeding more than a quarter of a million people every day. During the night of 28 April, Wenck reported to theGerman Supreme Army Command in Fuerstenberg that his Twelfth Army had been forced back along the entire front. According to Wenck, no attack on Berlin was possible as support from Busse's Ninth Army could no longer be expected. Instead, starting April 24, Wenck moved his army towards the Forest ofHalbe, broke into theHalbe pocket and linked up with the remnants of theNinth Army,Hellmuth Reymann's "Army Group Spree", and thePotsdam garrison. Wenck brought his army, remnants of the Ninth Army, and many civilian refugees across the Elbe and into territory occupied by theU.S. Army.
In 1945, asWorld War II drew to a close, Germany came under attack from the armies of thewestern Allies advancing from the west and those of theSoviet Union advancing from the east. On 25 April 1945 these two forces linked up nearTorgau, on the Elbe. The victorious countries marked the event unofficially asElbe Day. From 1949 to 1990 the Elbe formed part of theInner German border betweenEast Germany andWest Germany.
During the 1970s the Soviet Union stated thatAdolf Hitler's ashes had been scattered in the Elbe following disinterment from their original burial-site.[9][10]
^The commission was staffed with two representatives of Czechoslovakia and one representative ofAnhalt,Belgium,France, Hamburg,Italy,Prussia,Saxony, and the United Kingdom each, with Czecholosvakia and the German states being those, whose territory was crossed by the Elbe and thus competent for maintaining navigation installations. Cf.Der Große Brockhaus: Handbuch des Wissens in zwanzig Bänden: 21 vols., completely revised ed., Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus,151928–1935, vol. 5 (1930): Fünfter Band Doc–Ez, article: 'Elbe', pp. 400seqq., here p. 402. No ISBN.
^Text inLeague of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 26, 220–247.
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