Lauter () is a town in the district of

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

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It lies between the two towns of Aue and Schwarzenberg. It lies in the

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

, 4 km southeast of Aue, and 4 km northwest of Schwarzenberg, has about 4,700 inhabitants in an area of 21.55 km² and belongs to the Town League of Silberberg (). Since 1 January 2013, it is part of the town Lauter-Bernsbach. Through the town runs the

Silver Road The 140-kilometre-long Silver Road (, ) 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 sights and tourist attractions ...

, the

B 101 B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It represent ...

. Lauter has a station on the

Zwickau–Schwarzenberg railway The Zwickau–Schwarzenberg railway is a main line railway in the German state of Saxony. It extends from Zwickau through the valleys of the Zwickauer Mulde and the Schwarzwasser via Bad Schlema and Aue to Schwarzenberg. It opened in 1858 and ...

and is served by

Regionalbahn The ''Regionalbahn'' (; lit. Regional train; abbreviated ''RB'') is a train categories in Europe, type of Regional rail, local passenger train (stopping train) in Germany. It is similar to the Regionalzug (R) and Regio (Swiss railway train), R ...

trains, operated by (a subsidiary of

Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

) 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 hea ...

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 encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

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. History ...

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

and

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

making afforded the population livelihoods. When

industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

began in the 19th century, many machine factories, and metal- and

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

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 district existed from 1952 until the Reunification of Germany in 1990. The administrative seat and the main town was Karl-Marx-Stadt, ren ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. 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 The DDR-Oberliga (English: ''East German Premier League'' or ''GDR Premier League'') was the top-level association football league in East Germany. Overview Following World War II, separate sports competitions emerged in the Allied-occupied G ...

, until it was delegated to

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

in 1954. Its successor club

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

played in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

Population development

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

Notable people

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), luger, Olympic medalist; lived here

References

External links

* {{Authority control Former municipalities in Saxony