The town of Lauter () lies in the district of

Erzgebirgskreis Erzgebirgskreis is a district ('' Kreis'') in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is named after the Erzgebirge ("Ore Mountains"), a mountain range in the southern part of the district which forms part of the Germany–Czech Republic border. I ...

in the Free State of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, between the two towns of

Aue Aue may refer to: * Aue (toponymy), a frequent element in German toponymy meaning "wetland; river island; river" Places * Aue, Saxony, a mining town in Saxony, Germany * Aue (Samtgemeinde), a collective municipality in Uelzen District, Lower Sax ...

and Schwarzenberg. It lies in the Ore Mountains, 4 km southeast of Aue, and 4 km northwest of Schwarzenberg, has 4,927 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2006) in an area of 21.55 km² and belongs to the Town League of Silberberg (''Städtebund Silberberg''). Since 1 January 2013, it is part of the town Lauter-Bernsbach. Through the town runs the

Silver Road The 140-kilometre-long road, the Silver Road (german: Silberstraße) is the first and longest holiday route in the German Free State of Saxony. Against the background of the importance of mining in the history of Saxony, the road links those sigh ...

, the B 101. Lauter has a station on the Zwickau–Schwarzenberg railway and is served by Regionalbahn trains, operated by ''Erzgebirgsbahn'' (a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn) between Zwickau and

Johanngeorgenstadt Johanngeorgenstadt () is a mining town in Saxony’s Ore Mountains, 17 km south of Aue, and 27 km northwest of Karlovy Vary. It lies in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, on the border with the Czech Republic, is a state-recognized heal ...

History

The town arose from a forest village (''

Waldhufendorf The ''Waldhufendorf'' ("forest village"; plural: -''dörfer'') is a form of rural settlement established in areas of forest clearing with the farms arranged in a series along a road or stream, like beads on a chain.Dickinson, Robert E (1964). ''G ...

'') established in the late 12th century on the western ridge of the Schwarzwasser Valley. The name is recorded over the centuries as ''Lawther'' (1460), ''Lawte'' (1501) and ''Lauttera'' (1590). The town draws this name from a brook called ''die Lauter'', although this name is now no longer used for any waterway. Besides

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

and

log driving Log driving is a means of moving logs (sawn tree trunks) from a forest to sawmills and pulp mills downstream using the current of a river. It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America. Histor ...

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

and

basket A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff fibers and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials such as horsehai ...

making afforded the population livelihoods. When industrialization began in the 19th century, many machine factories, and metal- and

woodworking Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...

businesses as well as an enamel factory set up shop in town. From 1952 to 1990, Lauter was part of the

Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt The Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt, also known as Bezirk Chemnitz, was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Karl-Marx-Stadt, renamed back to Chemnitz during the reunification of Germany. History The Chemni ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. Town rights were conferred in 1962. In the early 1950s, the

BSG Empor Lauter BSG may refer to: Places * Bata Airport (IATA airport code: BSG), the second largest airport in Equatorial Guinea * Besitang station (rail station code BSG), North Sumatra, Sumatra Island, Indonesia; see List of railway stations in Indonesia * Bi ...

football club played successfully in the DDR-Oberliga, until it was delegated to

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

in 1954. Its successor club

Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the forme ...

played in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

Population development

The following figures refer to 31 December in each given year. : Source: ''Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen''

Famous people

* Edwin Bauersachs (1893–1948), Ore Mountain “homeland poet” (''Heimatdichter''), was active in Lauter from 1919 to 1945 *

Steffi Martin Steffi Martin Walter (17 September 1962 – 21 June 2017) was a German luger who competed during the 1980s, representing East Germany. She won two Olympic gold medals in the women's singles event, two gold medals at FIL World Luge Championship ...

(1962-2017), two-time

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medallist in luge, lived here

Sons and daughters of the town

* Johann Georg Rachalß (1630–1671), Saxony’s chief forester * Walter Weidauer (1899–1986), from 1946 to 1958 Mayor of

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

* Werner Krusche (1917–2009), Evangelical German theologian and Bishop of the

Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony The Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony (''Evangelische Kirche der Kirchenprovinz Sachsen''; KPS) was the most important Protestant denomination in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. As a united Protestant church, it combined both ...

References

External links

Town’s website
{{Authority control Former municipalities in Saxony