The Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also called the Elbe Sandstone Highlands, are a mountain range straddling the border between the state of Saxony in southeastern Germany and the North Bohemian region of the Czech Republic, with about three-quarters of the area lying on the German side. In both countries, core parts of the mountain range have been declared a national park. The name derives from the sandstone which was carved by erosion. The river Elbe breaks through the mountain range in a steep and narrow valley.
Lilienstein, one of several small mesas in the Saxon part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains
The Elbe valley in Bohemian Switzerland. The mountains on the horizon lie in Saxony
Hercules pillars in the Biela valley
Crags near Rathen
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Western Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia, then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 kilometres northwest of Hamburg. Its total length is 1,094 km (680 mi).
The Elbe (Labe) near Děčín, Czech Republic
The Middle Elbe in the North German Plain near the village of Gorleben. In this section, the river had been part of the Iron Curtain between West and East Germany during the Cold War. For that reason, the river banks even today look relatively natural and undeveloped. (Photo taken 2011)
View of the Elbe in Saxon Switzerland, an area in Germany
The Port of Hamburg on the Elbe
