Havel - Definition and Overview

For the Biblical Havel, see Abel.

See Václav Havel for text about the former Czechoslovak and Czech president.

The Havel is a river in Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a tributary of the Elbe river and 341 km in length. Extended by a canal it connects the Oder with Berlin and the Elbe.

The source of the Havel is located close to the town of Fürstenberg on the border between Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Its main tributary is the Spree river, which joins the Havel in the western quarters of Berlin. Between Berlin and the town of Brandenburg the river forms dozens of small lakes. The last section of the river flows through a region called Havelland; only the last few kilometres are located on the territory of Saxony-Anhalt, where the Havel enters the Elbe near Havelberg.

Towns on the course of the river include: Zehdenick, Oranienburg, Berlin, Potsdam, Werder, Brandenburg, Premnitz, Rathenow and Havelberg.