Elbe meadows
The Elbwiesen are the meadows along the Elbe through Dresden, a protected landscape (Landschaftsschutzgebiet) of 1,257 hectares.
What it is
The protected area is officially called "Dresdner Elbwiesen und -altarme" and is landscape protection area no. 6. It runs along the Elbe through the city, from the motorway bridge in the north-west to the southern boundary of Zschieren in the south-east. It includes the river bank, the flood meadows, the flood channel (Flutrinne) in Kaditz and Mickten, parts of the Ostragehege and parts of the old river arm.
The city says the meadows serve, among other uses, as a recreation area, a route to work, a place for dog walks, picnics and meetings, a source of drinking water, a discharge area during Elbe floods, a protected area and farmland.
Beavers have lived on the Dresden Elbe again since the mid-1990s, according to the city.
Protection
The city council set the protected area by ordinance on 29 August 1996; the ordinance was last brought up to date in 2015.
The ordinance's purpose is to preserve the townscape and landscape that rest on the Elbe meeting largely unbuilt, extensively farmed banks, and to keep the river meadows open for recreation and nature watching.
The meadows and the city's air
The meadows form cold air at night, which flows along the river and ventilates the city. The city names the Elbe with its meadows as one of the air-guiding corridors of Dresden.