The Elbe River
Elbe River, (Czech: Labe), a major river of central Europe. It begins in the Sudeten Mountains of the Czech Republic and flows some 725 miles (1,165 km) to the North Sea through the Czech Republic and Germany. Tributaries include the Vltava in the Czech Republic and the Mulde, Saale, and Havel in Germany.
The lower 60 miles (95 km) of the Elbe form a broad estuary navigable by oceangoing ships. The western end of the Kiel Canal enters the estuary at Brunsbüttelkoog. The German portion of the river has long been an important inland waterway.
The largest cities on the river are Hamburg and Dresden, Germany.
The Elbe was internationalized after World War I by treaty, which Germany repudiated on the eve of World War II. Victorious American and Soviet forces, coming from opposite directions, met at the Elbe near the end of World War II.