The Elbe River

Elbe River Ports

Visit Prague on your Elbe River Cruise

UNESCO World Heritage Sites along the Elbe River

Along the Elbe River and nearby you can find these amazing UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Visits to some may be included in your river cruise itinerary, but some may require some creative travel planning by your River Cruise Artist in order to visit. Learn more below about these UNESCO Sites and the history you can experience when you visit them. Let River Cruise Your Way take you away to the history around the Elbe River.

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus

Speicherstadt and adjacent Kontorhaus districts are densely built urban areas in Hamburg, Germany. Speicherstadt was originally developed on a group of narrow islands in the Elbe River between 1885 and 1927. It is one of the largest historic groups of port warehouses in the world. Speicherstadt includes 15 large warehouse blocks as well as six smaller buildings with a connecting network of canals. The Kontorhaus district is an area that features six large office complexes built from the 1920s to the 1940s to house port-related companies. Kontorhaus is testament to the rapid growth in international trade in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin

With more than 1500 acres and 150 structures built between 1730 and 1916, Potsdam’s palaces and parks eclectic nature reinforces its sense of uniqueness. It extends into the district of Berlin-Zehlendorf, with the palaces and parks lining the banks of the Havel River and Lake Glienicke. Voltaire stayed at the Sans-Souci Palace, built under Frederick II between 1745 and 1747. Both Potsdam and Berlin may not be direct ports on your river cruise but are usually offered as excursions or extensions so you can take in the history and grandeur of these cities.

Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin

The five notable museums on the Museum Island or Museumsinsel in Berlin, were built between 1824 and 1930, and illustrate the social phenomenon of museums from the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century. These museums were a grand project vision and illustrate the evolution of museum design through the 20th century. Each of the five museums was designed to establish an organic connection with the art or artifacts that are held within. The importance of the museum’s collections – which trace the development of civilizations throughout the ages – is enhanced by the architectural quality of the buildings themselves.

Berlin Modernism Housing Estates

The Berlin Modernism Housing Estates consist of six housing estates that illustrate the innovative housing policies in the early 20th century, when Berlin was particularly progressive socially, politically and culturally. It is a perfect example of the building reform period that led to improved housing and living conditions for low income families using unique and new approaches to city planning, architecture and design. Architects Bruno Taut, Martin Wagner and Walter Gropius exercised considerable influence on the development of housing around the world through their work in Berlin.

Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz

The Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz is a beautiful example of landscape design and garden planning of the Age of the Enlightenment during the 18th century. The diverse components of this Garden Kingdom include outstanding buildings, landscaped parks and gardens in English style, and subtly modified expanses of agricultural land. They serve aesthetic, educational, and economic purposes and their influence is evidenced throughout the region.

Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg

The region of Saxony-Anhalt is historically associated with Martin Luther and his associate-reformer Melanchthon. The Luther Memorials include Melanchthon’s house in Wittenberg, the houses in Eisleben where Luther was born in 1483 and died in 1546, his room in Wittenberg, the local church and the castle church. The castle church is where, on October 31, 1517, Luther posted his famous ’95 Theses’, which brought on the Reformation and a new era in the religious and political history of the Western world.

Dresden Elbe Valley

The cultural landscape of the Dresden Elbe River Valley extends along the Elbe river from Übigau Palace and Ostragehege fields in the north-west to the Pillnitz Palace and the Elbe River Island in the south-east. It features Dresden with its many monuments and parks from the 16th to 20th centuries. The landscape also features 19th century suburban villas with gardens and notable natural features. Some terraced slopes along the river are still used for vineyards and some old villages have retained their historic elements.

Historic Centre of Prague

Built between the 11th and 18th centuries, the Old Town, the Lesser Town and the New Town of Prague, Czech Republic, speak to the great architectural and cultural influence enjoyed by this city ever since the Middle Ages. There are numerous notable monuments, such as Hradcani Castle, St Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge and various churches and palaces, mostly built in the 14th century under the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV. Visit Prague either on the embarkation or disembarkation southern end of your Elbe River cruise.

Your Elbe River Cruise Awaits!

Are you ready to start planning your Elbe River Cruise Vacation Your Way? A River Cruise Artist at River Cruise Your Way is ready to be your vacation concierge. Contact us today at 1-800-259-7612 or use the form below and let us know when it is most convenient to call you, we will confirm via e-mail, and then reach out at the agreed upon time and date.