The Saxon Elbeland Dickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p.625. . (german: Sächsisches Elbland) is a term used in more recent times which describes a region along the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Rep ...

, whose boundaries are not clearly defined, but which extends roughly from the

Elbe Sandstone Mountains The Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also called the Elbe Sandstone Highlands (german: Elbsandsteingebirge; cs, Děčinská vrchovina), are a mountain range straddling the border between the state of Saxony in southeastern Germany and the North Bohemian ...

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces firs ...

. The best-known cities and town in this area are

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

Meißen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrech ...

Riesa Riesa is a town in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany. It is located on the river Elbe, approximately northwest of Dresden. History The name ''Riesa'' is derived from Slavic ''Riezowe''. This name, romanised as "Rezoa", appears first ...

and

. The term is largely synonymous with the region along the river known as the Upper Elbe (''Oberelbe''), i.e. the German section of the

Elbe River The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repub ...

nearest its source region. The tourist association of the same name encompasses the city of Dresden, the northern part of the district of

Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains (german: Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge) is a district ('' Kreis'') in Saxony, Germany. It is named after the mountain ranges Saxon Switzerland and Eastern Ore Mountains. History The district was establ ...

including

Freital Freital is a town in the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge in Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on a small river, the Weißeritz, and is southwest of Dresden. Geography Freital is located southwest of Dresden in the Döhlen ...

and

Tharandt Tharandt () is a municipality in Saxony, Germany, situated on the Weißeritz, 9 miles southwest of Dresden. It has a Protestant Church and the oldest academy of forestry in Germany, founded as the Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry by Heinrich Cott ...

, the district of

including

Nossen Nossen ( hsb, Nosyn) is a town in the district of Meissen, in Saxony, Germany. It is located 80 km southeast of Leipzig. The town is dominated by a large Renaissance castle. Nossen is best known for its proximity to a motorway junction wher ...

Lommatzsch Lommatzsch (; hsb, Hłomač) is a municipality located in the district of Meißen in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Geography Lommatzsch lies amidst the so-called ''Lommatzscher Pflege'', an area of land featuring high quality loessic s ...

, Coswig,

Radebeul Radebeul ( hsb, Radobyle) is a town (''große Kreisstadt'') in the Elbe valley in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a suburb of Dresden. It is well known for its viticulture, a museum dedicated to writer Karl May, and a narro ...

, Weinböhla,

Moritzburg Moritzburg may refer to: * Moritzburg, Saxony, German municipality * Moritzburg (Halle), fortified castle in Halle, Germany * Moritzburg Castle Moritzburg Castle (german: Schloss Moritzburg) or Moritzburg Palace is a Baroque palace in Moritz ...

Großenhain Großenhain (also written as Grossenhain; hsb, Wulki Hojn) is a Große Kreisstadt (German for major district town) in the district of Meissen, Saxony, Germany. It was originally known as Hayne. The current name simply means "big Hayne" History ...

and

Radeburg Radeburg is a town in the district of Meißen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 19 km east of Meißen, and 18 km north of Dresden. The main tourist attraction is the narrow-gauge Radebeul-Radeburg railway line that connects Radeburg ...

, the western part of Bautzen District including

Radeberg Radeberg is a small town in the district of Bautzen, Saxony, Germany. It is located approximately 20 kilometres north-east of Dresden. The town has an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church, and an old castle. History Radeberg was mentioned ...

and

Ottendorf-Okrilla Ottendorf-Okrilla is a municipality in the Bautzen district, Saxony, Germany. It is located 20 km northeast of Dresden. Geography The area of the municipality is 25.88 km², of which 1.58 km² are commercially used. The length fr ...

and a narrow, strip of land along the river including

Strehla Strehla ( hsb, Strjela) is a small town in the district of Meißen (district), Meißen, Saxony, Germany. It is located on the river Elbe, north of Riesa. This place name means ''arrow'' in Sorbian languages, Sorbian. Strehla includes the followin ...

and

Belgern Belgern (), is a town in the district Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is located on the left bank of the Elbe, 12 km southeast of Torgau and 55 km east of Leipzig. Since 1 January 2013, it is part of the town Belgern-Schildau ...

. The landscape is home to one of the most northerly wine-growing areas in Europe. Here, Saxon wine is produced on the south-facing slopes on the right-hand bank of the Elbe near Dresden-

Pillnitz Pillnitz is a quarter in the east of Dresden, Germany. It can be reached by bus, ship, walking along the river or by bicycle. Pillnitz is most famous for its Baroque palace and park, the Pillnitz Castle. Pillnitz Palace consists of the Riversid ...

and between Radebeul and the Elbe wine villages around Diesbar-Seußlitz. The vineyards produce just 1% of Germany's total volume of wine. The Saxon Elbeland also forms the northern part of the Upper Elbe Valley - Eastern Ore Mountains (''Oberes Elbtal - Osterzgebirge'') regional planning region. This incorporates the districts of Sächsische Schweiz,

and

Riesa-Großenhain Riesa-Großenhain was a district in Saxony, Germany. It was bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Elbe-Elster and Oberspreewald-Lausitz in Brandenburg, Kamenz, Meißen, Döbeln and Torgau-Oschatz Torgau-Oschatz is a f ...

. As a result, the landscape is also an important part of the Elbe-Labe

Euroregion In European politics, the term Euroregion usually refers to a transnational co-operation structure between two (or more) contiguous territories located in different European countries. Euroregions represent a specific type of cross-border regi ...

The philharmonic orchestra, the New Elbeland Philharmonia, is named after the region.

References

Sources

* Matthias Donath: ''Sächsisches Elbland''.

Edition Leipzig Edition Leipzig was a publisher in the German Democratic Republic (GDR/DDR), which, for the most part, placed books on Western markets as an export publisher. This was intended to serve representative purposes as well as to procure foreign cu ...

, Leipzig 2009, (''Kulturlandschaften Sachsens'' 1).

External links

Tourist Association of Saxon Elbeland (''Tourismusverband Sächsisches Elbland'')

Saxon Wine Road

Saxon Switzerland region

Upper Elbe Transport Association (''Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe'')

Regional Planning Region

Elbe-Labe Euroregion

''Neue Elbland Philharmonie''

Sächsische Binnenhäfen Oberelbe GmbH

Elbe Sandstone Mountains Tourist Association (''Tourismusverein Elbsandsteingebirge'')
{{Portal bar, Germany Geography of Saxony Dresden