Geography and urban development of Dresden past 60 years has made Dresden the fourth largest urban area in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne. The most important river in Dresden is the Elbe river, the only navigable body of water to flow through the city. There are also a number of tributaries such as the river Weißeritz. The nearest German cities are Chemnitz (80 km to the southwest), Leipzig (100 km to the northwest) and Berlin (200 km to the north). The Czech capital Prague is about 150 km to the south; the Polish city of Wrocław is about 200 km to the east. There are
Central German Metropolitan Region Group for European Metropolitan Regions in Germany) was formed in 2001 which developed the concept of the Central German Metropolitan Region in 2012. In 2013, Dresden and Magdeburg dropped out of the club and the membership has been focused more on cities and towns around Leipzig and Halle. The largest of the eight member cities are Leipzig in Saxony and Halle (Saale) in Saxony-Anhalt. The member cities have changed over time and the current member cities are as follows: Except for Zwickau and Wittenberg, all towns hold the status of an independent city (i.e. a county-free city). Dresden and Magdeburg