The Elbe has been celebrated, sung about, and painted repeatedly since its first mention around the year 150 AD. Throughout its course, history has unfolded in many ways. Notable buildings and transformed landscapes bear witness to this. The Elbe springs from the valleys of the Czech Giant Mountains. From here, Wallenstein marched into battle. Bohemian and Saxon miners extracted silver and iron ore from the slopes of the Elbe Valley. Engineers constructed bridges over the river, some of which were blown up for military strategic reasons. Fantastic natural backdrops accompany the Elbe all the way to its mouth in the North Sea: the Bohemian Basin, Elbe Sandstone Mountains, Saxon Switzerland, Dübener Heide, Fläming, Dessau-Magdeburg Elbe Valley, Börde, Altmark, Wische, Prignitz, Wendland, Vierlande, and marshland, Dithmarschen - landscapes as diverse as the river itself.