Painting of the Elbe with cyclists. The Elbe is a Central European river that rises in the Czech Republic, flows through Germany and empties into the North Sea. Among other things, it drains a large part of eastern Germany and almost all of Bohemia, which is surrounded by low mountain ranges. The best-known waters of its catchment area include the Vltava, the Mulde, the Saale, the Havel with the Spree and the Elde with the Müritz. In its upper course, it is characterised by the low mountain ranges, while in its further course it follows two glacial valleys of the North German Lowlands.