The town arose from a forest village (
Waldhufendorf) 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 and
log driving,
mining and
basket making afforded the population livelihoods. When
industrialization began in the 19th century, many machine factories, and
metal- and
woodworking 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 of
East Germany. Town rights were conferred in 1962. In the early 1950s, the
BSG Empor Lauter football club played successfully in the
DDR-Oberliga, until it was delegated to
Rostock in 1954. Its successor club
Hansa Rostock played in the
Bundesliga.
Population development The following figures refer to 31 December in each given year. : Source:
Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen ==Notable people==