Aken (Elbe)

Aken (Elbe) (German pronunciation: [ˈaːkən]) is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The town is located at the left bank of the Elbe river.

Geography

Aken located at the Middle Elbe is approx. 8 km west of Dessau-Rosslau in extended lowlands within the Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe. Approx. 15 km west of Aken the Saale river enters the Middle Elbe.

Districts

Heidehof, Kleinzerbst, Kühren, Lorf, Mennewitz, Obselau and Susigke

Growth of population

History

The castle Gloworp was first mentioned in the 12th century. The town itself was first documented in 1219, naming the mayor Waltherus de Aken. In 1270 Aken received its town charter as Civitas. The name Aken is based on the Latin name Aqua (location at or near the water). Probably this was a foundation from lower rhenish settlers from Aachen which is spelled Aken in the Dutch language.

Town twinning

Culture and sights

Elbe

The Elbe (/ˈɛlbᵊ/; Czech:  Labe  [ˈlabɛ]; German: Elbe [ˈɛlbə]; Low German: Elv) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (Czech Republic), then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km (68 mi) northwest of Hamburg. Its total length is 1,094 kilometres (680 mi).

The Elbe's major tributaries include the rivers Vltava, Saale, Havel, Mulde, Schwarze Elster, and Ohře.

The Elbe river basin, comprising the Elbe and its tributaries, has a catchment area of 148,268 square kilometres (57,247 sq mi), the fourth largest in Europe. The basin spans four countries, with its largest parts in Germany (65.5%) and the Czech Republic (33.7%). Much smaller parts lie in Austria (0.6%) and Poland (0.2%). The basin is inhabited by 24.5 million people.

Course

In the Czech Republic

The Elbe rises at an elevation of about 1,400 metres (4,593 ft) in the Krkonoše (also known as Giant Mountains or in German as Riesengebirge) on the northwest borders of the Czech Republic near Labská bouda. Of the numerous small streams whose waters compose the infant river, the most important is the Bílé Labe, or White Elbe. After plunging down the 60 metres (197 ft) of the Labský vodopád, or Elbe Falls, the latter stream unites with the steeply torrential Malé Labe, and thereafter the united stream of the Elbe pursues a southerly course, emerging from the mountain glens at and continuing on to Pardubice, where it turns sharply to the west. At Kolín some 43 kilometres (27 mi) further on, it bends gradually towards the north-west.

Elbe (disambiguation)

Elbe is a river in the Czech Republic and Germany

Elbe may also refer to:

Places

People

Ships

Other uses

Elbe (ship)

The Elbe, was a 1,693 ton, three-masted, iron sailing ship with a length of 257 feet, breadth of 38.2 feet and depth of 23.1 feet. She was built by Russel & Company in Glasgow for the Nourse Line, named after the River Elbe the longest river in Germany and launched in July 1887. She was primarily used for the transportation of Indian indentured labourers to the colonies. Details of some of these voyages are as follows:

The Elbe's third trip to Fiji was historic because it brought the first labourers from Madras to Fiji for the first time. Most South Indians were Tamil speakers but other languages such as Telugu and Malayalam were also represented. Conditions on board were good for the time, with regular nutritious food, plenty of exercise and an on-board hospital, and as a result there was a mortality of less than one percent.

The Elbe was also used for the transportation of cargo, arriving in London from Sydney, in March 1896 with a cargo of wool. The journey took 75 days.

The Elbe was sold in December 1907.

Aken

Aken can refer to:

Mythology

Aken, the Ferryman to the Underworld in Ancient Egyptian religion

Places

Aken (novel)

Aken (Window) is a 1996 novel by Estonian author Madis Kõiv. Kõiv wrote the novel in the 1960s, but it did not pass during the Soviet occupation of censorship.

References

Aqen

Aqen was a rarely mentioned Ancient Egyptian deity of the underworld. He is first mentioned in the famous Book of the Dead from Middle Kingdom period. There, he guided the sun god Ra as the "protector of Ra's celestial bark" by "bringing the shenw-ring to his majesty". He was also described as the "mouth of the time", from which the gods and demons pulled the "rope of time", as described in the tomb of king Seti I.

See also

References