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
Berlin–Hamburg Railway Berlin–Hamburg Railway The Berlin–Hamburg Railway () is a roughly long railway line for passenger, long-distance and goods trains. It was the first high-speed line upgraded in Germany to be capable of handling train speeds of over (up to 230 km/h). This line also has the fastest journey times between two German cities with average speeds of around 190 km/h (). The line built by the "Berlin-Hamburg Railway Company", work starting on 6 May 1844, and was taken into service on 15 December 1846. It was then the longest trunk route in the German states, and ran from Berlin's Hamburg station