The Elbe is one of the largest rivers and waterways in Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains in northern Bohemia, flows through Germany and flows estuarine into the North Sea. It is 1094 km long and its catchment area is 148 268 km². At its confluence with the Vltava it has a lower flow and is shorter from its source, yet it is not considered a tributary. The total length of the course of the Černý Brook, the Teplá Vltava, the Vltava and the Elbe from the confluence with the Vltava to the sea is 1329 km.
Etymology of the Elbe
Etymologically, the name of the river is believed to have originated from Germanic, Celtic, or Old European sources. The river is known as Elbe in German and Dutch, Elben in Danish, and Elv in Lower German. It is unlikely that the name was derived from the Old Norse or other Germanic words meaning „river,“ but instead, it is more likely that the possessive form changed to the appellative form. This is noted in the scholia to Adam of Bremen’s work from the 11th century, which states that „Gothelba River divides Gothia from Norway, and it is not dissimilar in size to the Albia of the Saxons, from which it derives its name.“
It is equal in power to the Saxon Elbe, from which it derives its name.“ About the Celtic source they state that the pre-Germanic hydronym Elbe does not bear features characteristic only for Celtic languages. Similar river names are found not only in territories once inhabited by the Celts, but also far beyond their borders.
Source
The Elbe rises at an altitude of 1,387 m in the peat bog of the Elbe Meadow. Where it is close to the state border with Poland. Below the Labská bouda, it falls into the Labský důl via the Labský waterfall.
