LAUBAN

lauban, a town of germany in the prussian province of silesia, is situated in a picturesque valley, at the junction of the lines of railway from gorlitz and sorau, 16 m. e. of the former. pop. (1905) 14,624. lauban has a roman catholic and two evangelical churches, a town hall, dating from 1541, a conventual house of the order of st magdalene, dating from the 14th century, a municipal library and museum, two hospitals, an orphanage and several schools. its industrial establishments comprise tobacco, yarn, thread, linen and woollen cloth manufactories, bleaching and dyeing works, breweries and oil and flour mills. lauban was founded in the 10th and fortified in the 13th century; in 1427 and 1431 it was devastated by the hussites, and in 1640 by the swedes. in 1761 it was the headquarters of frederick the great, and in 1813 it was the last saxon town that made its submission to prussia. see berkel, _geschichte der stadt lauban_ (lauban, 1896).