1945–1963: East Germany's dominant side The club was founded as
SG Aue in 1945, and on 1 November 1948 became
BSG Pneumatik Aue under the sponsorship of the local construction tool works. Changes in sponsorship led to a change in name to
BSG Zentra Wismut Aue in 1949 and then simply to
BSG Wismut Aue in 1951. The club performed well, advancing through third- and second-tier play to the DDR-Oberliga in 1951. BSG Wismut Aue finished as national vice-champions in 1953 losing in a final to
SG Dynamo Dresden by a score of 2–3. The central sports association SV Wismut founded
sports club SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt in the nearby city of
Chemnitz – recently renamed Karl-Marx-Stadt – in 1954. The
East German government urged that Karl-Marx-Stadt deserved a quality football team and plans were made for the football department of BSG Wismut Aue to move to Karl-Marx-Stadt and be incorporated into the new sports club SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt. However, local miners protested and players threatened to strike, leading to a partial abandonment of the plan. The football department of BSG Wismut Aue was still delegated to
SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt, but the team would continue to play their matches at the Otto-Grotewohl-Stadion in Aue. Those successes led to
Aue's participation in the
European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1958, 1959 and 1961.
1963–1991: With the DDR-Oberliga to the end SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt merged with SC Motor Karl-Marx-Stadt to form SC Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1963. Since SC Motor Karl-Marx-Stadt had brought their own football department, the football department of SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt, once delegated from Aue, got back their independence and could be rejoined with BSG Wismut Aue. The team continued to enjoy modest success by staying up in the top-tier DDR-Oberliga, and, although it did not win another championship, it holds the record for the most games played by any team in that league.
Aue sits 4th on the all-time DDR-Oberliga list and over the course of thirty-eight years played more games (1,019 matches) than any other East German side. Just behind them, 6th place
Rot-Weiß Erfurt played 1,001 matches. BSG Wismut Aue also played in the
UEFA Cup tournament in 1985–86 and 1987–88, going out in the first round against
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in their first appearance and in the second round against Albanian side
Flamurtari Vlorë in their second. After
German reunification in 1990, the club was renamed
FC Wismut Aue before taking on its current name,
FC Erzgebirge Aue in 1993. The name "Erzgebirge",
Ore Mountains in English, recognizes that the club's home is located in the western part of these mountains. Aue was relegated to the
DDR-Liga Staffel B in the 1989–90 season, so it was admitted to the
NOFV-Oberliga Süd, which was the fourth tier of the German League between 1991 and 2008, in the 1991–92 season.
1991–2003: Playing in united Germany In the combined football leagues of the newly united Germany,
Aue began playing in the NOFV-Oberliga Süd (IV). They competed in the
DFB-Pokal for the first time in 1992. With the establishment of the
Regionalliga Nordost (III) in 1994, Aue qualified for the new league. The club was moved to the
Regionalliga Nord in 2000, and after a surprising league title there in 2003, they were promoted to the
2. Bundesliga.
2003–present: 2. Bundesliga Following a Regionalliga Nord title, Erzgebirge Aue were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga where they delivered mid-table performances in their first three seasons, but suffered relegation back to the third tier in 2008. Aue were fined £25,000 for it and it was ruled that two blocks in their stadium be closed for 12 months. In the 2014–15 season, they were relegated back to the 3. Liga, only to be promoted back to the 2. Bundesliga the following season. The 2016–17 season saw Aue finish 14th, whilst they finished 16th in the
2017–18 season. They finished 14th in the 2018–19 season. ==Reserve team==