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The River Elbe originates in the Giant Mountains (Czech Republic) and flows into the North Sea near Cuxhaven. Its total length is about 1100 km, of which around 730 km are located in Germany. Ten German federal states lie partially (Saxony, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein, Bavaria) or completely (Berlin, Hamburg) in the catchment area of ​​the Elbe.
The Elbstrom chainnage used for shipping and navigation on the Elbe inland waterway begins at the German / Czech border near Schöna (km 0.0) and ends at Cuxhaven-Kugelbake (sea border) (km 727.70). The Elbe / Labe chainage used in the Czech Republic has its zero position at Mělník (confluence of the Vltava).
The course of the River Elbe is divided into the sections "Upper Elbe" (source of the Elbe to Hirschstein Castle [near Meißen]), "Middle Elbe" (Hirschstein Castle to Geesthacht weir) and "Lower Elbe" (Geesthacht weir to the estuary mouth of the North Sea).
The entire catchment area of ​​the Elbe has a size of about 150,000 sq. km, 65.5 % in Germany, 33.7 % in the Czech Republic, 0.6 % in Austria and 0.2 % in Poland. The main tributaries of the Elbe are the Vltava, the Eger (Ohře), the Schwarze Elster, the Mulde, the Saale and the Havel. [1]

The following international and national commissions / working groups advocate for water protection and flood risk management on the Elbe and its tributaries:

• ICPER - International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe River
• German - Czech Commission on Border Rivers
• FGG Elbe - River basin community Elbe
• AWE - Association of water suppliers in the Elbe basin