Elbe

Albis or Albia are old medieval names for the river Elbe

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 (*albī) found elsewhere in Germanic; cf. Old Norse river name Elfr, Swedish älv "river", Norwegian elv "river", Old English river name elf, and Middle Low German elve "river-bed".[2]

The Elbe has always been navigable by commercial vessels,[3] and provides important trade links as far inland as Prague. The river is linked by canals (Elbe Lateral Canal, Elbe-Havel Canal, Mittellandkanal) 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. The Elbe-Weser Shipping Channel connects the Elbe with the Weser.

By the Treaty 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 the United 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 that inland 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: the Magdeburg 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]

The Dolní Žleb Ferry

The Wörlitz Coswig Ferry

The Zollenspieker Ferry

The Elbe is crossed by many ferries, both passenger and car carrying. In downstream order, these include:[7]

• Dolní Žleb Ferry, at Dolní Žleb part of Děčín
• Rathen Ferry, at Rathen
• Pillnitz Kleinzschachwitz Ferry, in the eastern suburbs of Dresden
• Laubegast Niederpoyritz Ferry, in Dresden
• Johannstadt Neustadt Ferry, in Dresden
• Belgern Ottersitz Ferry, between Belgern and Ottersitz
• Dommitzsch Prettin Ferry, between Dommitzsch and Prettin
• Mauken Pretzsch Ferry, between Mauken and Pretzsch
• Wartenburg Elster Ferry, between Wartenburg and Elster
• Wörlitz Coswig Ferry, between Wörlitz and Coswig
• Steutz Aken Ferry, between Steutz and Aken
• Tochheim Ferry, between Tochheim and Alt Tochheim near Breitenhagen
• Ronney Barby Ferry, between Barby and Walternienburg
• Westerhüsen Ferry, at Westerhüsen near Magdeburg
• Schartau Rogätz Ferry, between Schartau and Rogätz
• Ferchland Grieben Ferry, between Ferchland and Grieben
• Sandau Büttnershof Ferry, between Sandau and Büttnershof
• Räbel Havelberg Ferry, between Räbel and Havelberg
• Lenzen Pevestorf Ferry, between Lenzen and Pevestorf
• Neu Darchau Darchau Ferry, between Darchau and Neu Darchau
• Bleckede Ferry, between Bleckede and Neu Bleckede
• Zollenspieker Ferry, between Kirchwerder 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 of Hamburg centre
• Ferries in the port of Hamburg, operated by HADAG[8]
• Wischhafen Glückstadt Ferry, between Wischhafen and Glückstadt to the west of Hamburg
• Brunsbüttel Cuxhaven Ferry, between Brunsbüttel and Cuxhaven at the mouth of the river (out of service as of October 2022).

Many of these ferries are traditional reaction ferries, a type of cable ferry that uses the current flow of the river to provide propulsion.

Humans first lived in the northern Elbe region before about 200,000 years ago, during the Middle Paleolithic.

Ptolemy recorded the Elbe as Albis (Germanic for "river") in Germania Magna, with its source in the Asciburgis mountains (Giant Mountains), where the Germanic Vandalii then lived.

The Elbe near Königstein Fortress in Germany

The Elbe has long served as an important delineator of European geography. The Romans knew the river as the Albis; however, they made only one serious attempt to move the border of their empire forward from the Rhine to the Elbe, and this attempt failed with the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, after which they never seriously tried again. In the Middle Ages the Elbe formed the eastern limit of the Empire of Charlemagne (King of the Franks from 769 to 814). The river's navigable sections were essential to the success of the Hanseatic League in the Late Middle Ages, and much trade was carried on its waters.

From the early 6th century Slavic tribes (known as the Polabian Slavs) settled in the areas east of the rivers Elbe and Saale (which had been depopulated since the 4th century). In the 10th century the Ottonian Dynasty (dominant from 919 to 1024) began conquering these lands; a slow process of Germanization ensued, including the Wendish Crusade of 1147.

The Elbe delineated the western parts of Germany from the eastern so-called East Elbia, where soccage and serfdom 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 as East Elbian Junkers. The Northern German area north of the Lower Elbe used to be called North Albingia in the Middle Ages. When the four Lutheran church bodies there united in 1977 they chose the name North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church. Other, administrative units were named after the river Elbe, such as the Westphalian Elbe département (1807–1813) and Lower Elbe département (1810), and the French département Bouches-de-l'Elbe (1811–1814).

On 10 April 1945, General Wenck of the German Twelfth Army located to the west of Berlin to guard against the advancing American and British forces. But, as the Western 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 vast refugee 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 the German 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 of Halbe, broke into the Halbe pocket and linked up with the remnants of the Ninth Army, Hellmuth Reymann's "Army Group Spree", and the Potsdam garrison. Wenck brought his army, remnants of the Ninth Army, and many civilian refugees across the Elbe and into territory occupied by the U.S. Army.

In 1945, as World War II drew to a close, Germany came under attack from the armies of the western Allies advancing from the west and those of the Soviet Union advancing from the east. On 25 April 1945 these two forces linked up near Torgau, on the Elbe. The victorious countries marked the event unofficially as Elbe Day. From 1949 to 1990 the Elbe formed part of the Inner German border between East Germany and West Germany.

During the 1970s the Soviet Union stated that Adolf Hitler's ashes had been scattered in the Elbe following disinterment from their original burial-site.[9][10]

• Rada, Uwe (2013). Die Elbe. Europas Geschichte im Fluss (in German). Munich: Siedler. ISBN 978-3-88680-995-0.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elbe.

• Geographic data related to Elbe at OpenStreetMap