Flusslandschaft Elbe Biosphere Reserve, UNESCO biosphere reserve along Elbe River, Germany

The Flusslandschaft Elbe Biosphere Reserve is a large protected area spanning five federal states that contains wetlands, floodplains, and forests along the Elbe River. The area covers about 400 kilometers of river course and displays typical habitats of a dynamic river landscape.

The area received its first UNESCO designation in 1979 for the Middle Elbe region and was expanded in 1997 to include all five federal states. This expansion reflected growing recognition of the entire river system's importance.

The reserve includes the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm in Saxony-Anhalt, a cultural landscape of European importance with parks and palaces begun in the 18th century. The Bauhaus Dessau is not part of the reserve. The garden realm shows how designed landscapes were laid out along the Elbe floodplain.

Visitors can use marked hiking and cycling paths that connect different habitats and provide access to marshlands and tributary valleys. The best time to explore is during spring and autumn months when wildlife is especially active.

The reserve's origins trace to 1979, when UNESCO designated the Steckby-Lödderitzer Forst as a biosphere reserve. That forest, now part of the Mittelelbe reserve, protects the Elbe floodplains and gives shelter to the endangered Elbe beaver.