Perhaps you’ve heard of Lausen. It is now part of Leipzig. Lausen’s story is one of villages becoming part of cities.
Lausen was an independent municipality. It existed west of Leipzig from 1838 to 1994. The municipality included the village of Lausen. Since January 1, 1995, Lausen has been part of Leipzig. Lausen sits on the eastern shore of the Kulkwitzer See.
Slavic settlers founded Lausen. They built a Runddorf. This is a round village. It was on the eastern bank of the Zschampert stream. Lausen nestled between Göhrenz and Großmiltitz. It was on the western slope of the Dehlitz-Rückmarsdorfer end moraine. Lausen was first mentioned in 1234. It was called Lusene then. This Slavic word means meadowland.
The Bishop of Merseburg was the local lord. This lasted from the 13th century until 1562. Later, the Electors of Saxony took over. Then, the Dukes of Saxe-Merseburg ruled from 1656 to 1738. From 1738 to 1918, the Electors and Kings of Saxony were in charge. Lausen was part of the Amt Lützen. Around 1740, Lausen came under the Amt Leipzig.
Since 1551, Lausen belonged to the manor of Großzschocher. In 1665, the village came to the Miltitz family. Since 1683, it belonged to the Knauthain manor. The manor built a Vorwerk. This is an estate farm. It was built in Lausen in 1848.
In 1835, Lausen had 7 Magazinhufen of land. There were also 22 houses. The village had 121 inhabitants. In 1838, Lausen became a Landgemeinde. This gave it the right to self-administration. But the lower jurisdiction remained with the Knauthain patrimonial court. This lasted until October 1, 1856.
From 1873 to 1952, Lausen belonged to the Amtshauptmannschaft Leipzig. From 1952 to 1994, it was part of the Leipzig-Land district. On December 1, 1910, Lausen had 353 residents.
In 1897, the Plagwitz–Pörsten railway line opened. This gave the community a train station. People called the train to Pörsten the “Express London-Lützen-Lausen.” Train service stopped in 1998. The tracks were removed in 2005. The station building still exists. It is now a private residence. The Elster-Saale cycle path runs on the former railway line. It leads west from Lausen.
In the 19th century, brown coal mining began south of Lausen. At first, it was underground. In 1936, the mining method changed. It became open-cast mining. This expanded towards Lausen. The landscape changed a lot. Open-cast mining also cut off the direct route between Lausen and Markranstädt.
In 1962, the flooding of the remaining holes began. This created the Kulkwitzer See. The two holes were separated by an earth dam. In 1973, the Kulkwitzer See became a local recreation area. In 1979/81, a bathing beach was created near Lausen. A bungalow colony was built west of Lausen. It had 141 summer houses. This happened between 1974 and 1980.
In December 1979, part of Lausen was incorporated into Leipzig. This area was used to build part of the Grünau residential complex. In November 1985, Lausen was connected to Leipzig’s tram network. The nearby lake and tram made Lausen a popular place to live.
On December 31, 1994, Lausen was 2.38 km² large. It had 405 residents. On January 1, 1995, Lausen became part of Leipzig. Since then, the former municipality has been part of Lausen-Grünau. It is in the West district. Now you know a bit more about Lausen.