Lauchhammer

Lauchhammer (German pronunciation: [ˈlaʊxˌhamɐ] ^ⓘ; Lower Sorbian: Łuchow, pronounced [ˈwuxɔw]) is a town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in southern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the Black Elster river, approx. 17 km west of Senftenberg, and 50 km north of Dresden.

Lauchhammer Łuchow
Town
Church of Christ, the King
Coat of arms
Location of Lauchhammer Łuchow within Oberspreewald-Lausitz district
Location of Lauchhammer Łuchow
Lauchhammer Łuchow Lauchhammer Łuchow
Coordinates: 51°30′N 13°48′E
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Oberspreewald-Lausitz
Subdivisions	5 Stadt- und 2 Ortsteile
Government
• Mayor (2021–29)	Mirko Buhr
Area
• Total	88.89 km2 (34.32 sq mi)
Highest elevation	160 m (520 ft)
Lowest elevation	94 m (308 ft)
Population  (2024-12-31)
• Total	14,042
• Density	158.0/km2 (409.1/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	01979
Dialling codes	03574
Vehicle registration	OSL
Website	www.lauchhammer.de

History

From 1815 to 1944, Lauchhammer was part of the Prussian Province of Saxony and from 1944 to 1945 of the Province of Halle-Merseburg. From 1947 to 1952 it was part of Saxony-Anhalt and from 1952 to 1990 of the Bezirk Cottbus of East Germany.

Demography

• 
  Development of Population since 1875 within the Current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population Development of Brandenburg state; Grey Background: Time of Nazi rule; Red Background: Time of Communist rule)
• 
  Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line); for 2020-2030 (green line)

Lauchhammer: Population development
within the current boundaries (2020)

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1875	4,627	—
1890	6,054	+1.81%
1910	10,151	+2.62%
1925	17,259	+3.60%
1939	22,467	+1.90%
1950	27,524	+1.86%
1964	32,757	+1.25%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1971	31,854	−0.40%
1981	27,102	−1.60%
1985	26,626	−0.44%
1990	24,945	−1.30%
1995	22,948	−1.66%
2000	20,769	−1.98%
2005	18,697	−2.08%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2010	16,956	−1.94%
2015	15,084	−2.31%
2016	14,791	−1.94%
2017	14,569	−1.50%
2018	14,622	+0.36%
2019	14,336	−1.96%
2020	14,070	−1.86%

Transport

Lauchhammer lies on the Węgliniec–Roßlau railway and offers connections to Leipzig and Cottbus.

Notable people

• Sven Benken (born 1970), footballer
• Hans-Joachim Brauske (1943–2025), boxer
• Danny Breitfelder (born 1997), footballer
• Thomas Gumpert (1952–2021), actor
• Klaus Haertter (born 1952), fencer
• Stefan Härtel (born 1988), boxer
• Jens Kunath (born 1967), footballer
• Annett Neumann (born 1970), track cyclist
• Magdalena Schmidt (born 1949), gymnast
• Sebastian Schuppan (born 1986), footballer
• Mario Veit (born 1973), boxer
• Annelore Zinke (born 1958), gymnast
• Martin Zurawsky (born 1990), footballer