Elbe

Elbe or Labe (German Elbe; Czech Labe), river, central Europe. One of the chief rivers of the region, it is 1,170 km (724 mi) long and rises at about 1400 m (about 4600 ft) in the Krkonoše range in the northwestern Czech Republic. Flowing generally northwest, the Elbe courses through the east-central part of Germany and continues through northwestern Germany until it empties into the North Sea at Cuxhaven. Major cities along the Elbe include Ústí nad Labem in the Czech Republic, and Dresden and Hamburg in Germany. Among the chief tributaries of the Elbe are the Vltava (Moldau) River in the Czech Republic, and the Saale River in Germany; it is connected by canals with the Odra (Oder) River in the Czech Republic and with the Rhine and Weser rivers in Germany. More than 805 km (500 mi) of the Elbe, from the North Sea to Prague, are navigable, and the river has been an important commercial route since the 13th century. On April 27, 1945, at the close of World War II, American and Soviet forces converged at Torgau, Germany, on the Elbe River.