Elbe (Czech, Labe), river, central Europe. One of the chief rivers of the region, it is 1,136 km (706 mi) long and rises at about 1,400 m (4,600 ft) in the Krkonoe (Riesengebirge) range in the north-western Czech Republic (see Sudety). Flowing generally north-west, the Elbe courses through the east-central part of Germany and continues through north-western 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 River Oder 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 met at Torgau, Germany, on the Elbe. In 2004 an 18-km (11-mi) stretch of land in the Elbe Valley around Dresden was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its 18th- and 19th-century cultural landscape, including the palaces of Übigau and Pillnitz and the monuments and landmarks of Dresden city centre.