Kulturlandschaft Dresdner Elbtal

The Dresden Elbe Valley is a cultural landscape and former World Heritage Site stretching along the Elbe river in Dresden, the state capital of Saxony, Germany. The valley, extending for some 20km and passing through the Dresden Basin, is one of two major cultural landscapes built up over the centuries along the Central European river Elbe, along with the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm downstream.With respect to its scenic and architectural values, including the Dresden urban area as well as natural river banks and slopes, the Elbe Valley was entered on the World Heritage Site list of the UNESCO in 2004. However, in July 2006 it was designated a World Heritage in Danger and finally delisted in June 2009, in the course of the construction of the Waldschlösschen Bridge river crossing.DescriptionThe cultural landscape comprises the Dresden urban area along the Elbe meanders, stretching from the Loschwitz district in the southeast down to the Ostragehege plains in the northwest. The forested Elbe slopes of the Lusatian Plateau and the Dresden Heath in the northeast protect the Valley from harsh winds; with an average annual temperature between 9.3 and 10 °C, even viticulture (Saxon wine) is common. The Elbe banks are characterised by extended meadows (Elbwiesen) which have remained free of any building developments due to regularly occurring floods. The landscape is a conservation area according to the 1992 EU Habitats Directive, including numerous smaller protected areas (Naturschutzgebiete).