Elbe 50759 224771453 2008-07-10T10:14:53Z Bonadea 2877947 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/Geierrs|Geierrs]] ([[User talk:Geierrs|talk]]) to last version by Kozuch {{Otheruses4|a river in Central Europe|a town in the United States with the same name|Elbe, Washington}} {{Geobox River <!-- *** Name section *** --> | name = Elbe <!-- *** Map section *** --> | map = Elbe Einzugsgebiet.png | map_size = | map_caption = The Elbe watershed <!-- *** Country etc. *** --> | other_name = {{lang-cs|Labe}} | other_name1 = {{lang-de|Elbe}} | other_name2 = [[Low German]]: ''Ilv'' | country = Czech Republic | country1 = Germany | region = Hradec Králové Region | region1 = Pardubice Region | region2 = Central Bohemian Region | region3 = Ústí nad Labem Region | region4 = Saxony | region5 = Saxony-Anhalt | region6 = Brandenburg | region7 = Lower Saxony | region8 = Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | region9 = Hamburg | region10 = Schleswig-Holstein | city = Pardubice | city1 = Ústí nad Labem | city2 = [[Pirna]], [[Dresden]], [[Meißen]], [[Torgau]], [[Lutherstadt Wittenberg]], [[Dessau]], [[Magdeburg]], [[Hamburg]], [[Cuxhaven]] <!-- *** Geography *** --> | length = 1091 | length_imperial = | watershed = 148268 | watershed_imperial = | discharge_location = mouth | discharge_average = 711 | discharge_average_imperial = | discharge_max_month = April | discharge_max = 1232 | discharge_max_imperial = | discharge_min_month = September | discharge_min = 493 | discharge_min_imperial = | discharge1_location = [[Děčín]] | discharge1_average = 303 | discharge1_average_imperial = <!-- *** Source *** --> | source_name = Bílé Labe | source_location = Krkonoše | source_region = | source_country = Czech Republic | source_country1 = | source_elevation = 1386 | source_elevation_imperial = | source_lat_d = 50 | source_lat_m = 46 | source_lat_s = 31 | source_lat_NS = N | source_long_d = 15 | source_long_m = 32 | source_long_s = 16 | source_long_EW = E <!-- *** Mouth *** --> | mouth_name = North Sea | mouth_location = | mouth_country = Germany | mouth_region = | mouth_country1 = | mouth_elevation = 0 | mouth_elevation_imperial = | mouth_lat_d = | mouth_lat_m = | mouth_lat_s = | mouth_lat_NS = | mouth_long_d = | mouth_long_m = | mouth_long_s = | mouth_long_EW = <!-- *** Tributaries *** --> | tributary_left = Vltava | tributary_left1 = Ohře | tributary_left2 = [[Mulde]], [[Saale]], [[Ohre]], Tanger, [[Ilmenau River]], [[Oste]] | tributary_right = [[Jizera River|Jizera]] | tributary_right1 = Schwarze Elster, [[Havel]], Elde, Sude, [[Alster]], Stör <!-- *** Image *** ---> | image = Labe_udoli.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = The Labe near Děčín, Czech Republic }} The '''Elbe''' ({{Audio-cs|Labe|Cs-Labe.ogg}}; {{lang-de|die Elbe}}; [[Low German]]: ''de Ilv'') is one of the major [[river]]s of [[Central Europe]]. It originates in the northwestern [[Czech Republic]] before traversing much of [[Germany]] and flowing into the [[North Sea]]. Its total length has been given as {{convert|1091|km|mi|0|lk=on}}. ==Geography== The Elbe rises at an elevation of about {{convert|1400|m|ft|0}} in the [[Karkonosze|Krkonoše]] (also known as ''Giant Mountains'' or in German as ''Riesengebirge'') on the north west borders of the Czech Republic. 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 {{convert|60|m|ft|0}} of the [[Labský vodopád]], the latter stream unites with the steeply 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 {{convert|43|km|mi|0}} further on, it bends gradually towards the north-west. At the village of [[Káraný]], a little above [[Brandýs nad Labem]] it picks up the [[Jizera River|Jizera]]. [[Image:Lauf der Elbe.png|thumb|200px|left|German map of the River Elbe.]] At [[Mělník]] its stream is more than doubled in volume by the [[Vltava]], or Moldau, a river which winds northwards through [[Bohemia]]. Although upstream from the [[confluence]] Vltava is longer (434 km vs. 294), has larger discharge and larger [[drainage basin]], due historical reasons (at the [[confluence]] the [[Vltava]] meets the Elbe at almost a right angle, so it appears as a tributary) river continues as Elbe. Some distance lower down, at [[Litoměřice]], the waters of the Elbe are tinted by the reddish [[Ohře]] (Eger). Thus augmented, and swollen into a stream {{convert|140|m|ft|0}} wide, the Elbe carves a path through the basaltic mass of the [[České Středohoří]], churning its way through a deep, narrow rocky gorge. Shortly after crossing the Czech-German frontier, and passing through the sandstone defiles of the [[Elbe Sandstone Mountains]], the stream assumes a north-westerly direction, which on the whole it preserves right to the North Sea. The river 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 [[Torgau]], [[Wittenberg]], [[Dessau]], [[Magdeburg]], [[Wittenberge]], and [[Hamburg]] on the way, and taking on the waters of the [[Mulde]] and [[Saale]] from the west, and those of the [[Schwarze Elster]], [[Havel]] and [[Elde]] from the east. Soon the Elbe reaches [[Hamburg]], and then passes through [[Holstein]] until it flows into the North Sea at [[Cuxhaven]]. Near its mouth it passes [[Otterndorf]], [[Glückstadt]], [[Brunsbüttel]] and the entrance to the [[Kiel Canal]]. ==Navigation== [[Image:Koenigstein Saxony pic01 2007 04 22.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The Elbe near [[Festung Königstein]] in [[Germany]].]] 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 [[canal]]s 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. Before Germany was reunited, waterway transport in Western Germany was hindered by the fact that inland navigation to Hamburg had to pass through the German Democratic Republic. The Elbe Seitenkanal (Elbe Lateral Canal) was built between the Mittellandkanal and the lower Elbe to restore this connection. When the two nations were reunited, works began to improve and restore the original links: the [[Magdeburg Water Bridge|Elbe Canal Bridge]] near Magdeburg now allows large barges to cross the Elbe without having to enter the river. The often low water levels of the Elbe do not hinder navigation to Berlin any longer. (Source: [http://www.noorderSoft.com/indexen.html NoorderSoft Waterways Database]) ==Etymology== [[Image:Hamburg-Hafen-Elbe4.jpg|thumb|The Elbe is feeding the [[Port of Hamburg]]]] First attested in Latin as ''Albis'', the name ''Elbe'' means "river" or "river-bed" and is nothing more than the [[High German]] version of a word (*''albiz'') found elsewhere in Germanic; cf. [[Old Norse]] river name ''Elfr'', [[Swedish language|Swedish]] dialectal ''älv'' "deep river-bed", [[Old English]] river name ''Ielf'', and [[Middle Low German]] ''elve'' "river-bed".<ref>Orel, Vladimir. ''A Handbook of Germanic Etymology''. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2003: 13</ref> ==History== The Elbe was recorded by [[Ptolemy]] as ''Albis'' ([[Germanic languages|Germanic]] for "river", see below) in [[Germania]] Magna with its source in the ''Asciburgis'' mountains ([[Karkonosze|Krkonoše]], Riesengebirge or Giant Mountains), where the Germanic ''[[Vandalii]]'' lived. [[Image:Dresden-Frauenkirche-View.from.top.06.JPG|thumb|The Elbe passing Dresden]] The Elbe has long been an important delineator of European geography. The [[Roman Empire|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 river's navigable sections were also essential to the success of the [[Hanseatic League]] and much trade was carried on its waters. In [[1945]], as [[World War II]] was drawing to a close, [[Nazi Germany]] was caught between the armies of the western Allies advancing from the west and the [[Soviet Union]] advancing from the east. On [[April 25]], these two forces linked up near Torgau, on the Elbe. The event was marked as [[Elbe Day]]. After the war, the Elbe formed part of the border between [[East Germany|East]] and [[West Germany]]. According to Russian accounts, In April, [[1970]], when the [[SMERSH]] facility in [[Magdeburg]] was being transferred to the [[East Germany|East German]] government, the remains of [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Eva Braun]], [[Joseph Goebbels]], [[Magda Goebbels]] and [[Goebbels children|the Goebbels' six children]] were reportedly exhumed, thoroughly cremated, and the ashes finally dumped unceremoniously into the Elbe. ==References== {{Reflist}} ==See also== * [[2002 European floods]] * [[2006 European floods]] ==External links== * [http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=albis&btnG=Search&domains=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancientlibrary.com&sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancientlibrary.com Ancient library Albis river in Germania Magna] * [http://www.ancientlibrary.com/gazetteer/0367.html Source of Albis river in Asciburgis (Riesengebirge Giants mountains] * [http://www.ergis.cz/krkonose/index.php?lang=en&detail=38&path=places information and pictures of the spring of Labe in Giant Mountains (Krkonoše, Riesengebirge)] {{Commons|Elbe}} [[Category:Elbe basin|*]] [[Category:Rivers of the Czech Republic]] [[Category:Rivers of Germany]] [[Category:Geography of Brandenburg]] [[Category:Geography of Hamburg]] [[Category:Geography of Lower Saxony]] [[Category:Geography of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]] [[Category:Geography of Saxony]] [[Category:Geography of Saxony-Anhalt]] [[Category:Geography of Schleswig-Holstein]] {{Link FA|de}} {{Link FA|lmo}} [[af:Elbe]] [[ar:إلبه]] [[ast:Ríu Elba]] [[be-x-old:Лаба]] [[bs:Elba]] [[br:Elbe]] [[bg:Елба (река)]] [[ca:Elba (riu)]] [[cs:Labe]] [[da:Elben]] [[de:Elbe]] [[et:Elbe]] [[es:Río Elba]] [[eo:Elbo (rivero)]] [[eu:Elba ibaia]] [[fa:الب]] [[fr:Elbe (fleuve)]] [[fy:Elbe]] [[gl:Río Elba]] [[ko:엘베 강]] [[hsb:Łobjo]] [[hr:Laba]] [[io:Elbe]] [[id:Elbe]] [[is:Saxelfur]] [[it:Elba (fiume)]] [[he:אלבה (נהר)]] [[sw:Elbe]] [[la:Albis]] [[lv:Elba]] [[lb:Elbe]] [[lt:Elbė]] [[lmo:Elba]] [[hu:Elba]] [[nl:Elbe]] [[ja:エルベ川]] [[no:Elben]] [[nn:Elbe]] [[nds:Ilv]] [[pl:Łaba]] [[pt:Rio Elba]] [[ro:Râul Elba]] [[ru:Эльба (река)]] [[sq:Elba]] [[simple:Elbe]] [[sk:Labe]] [[sr:Лаба (река)]] [[fi:Elbe]] [[sv:Elbe]] [[tr:Elbe Nehri]] [[uk:Ельба]] [[ur:ایلب]] [[zh:易北河]]