LAUBAN, chief town of a circle of the same name in the government of Liegnitz and province of Prussian Silesia, is situated in a picturesque valley, at the junction of the lines of railway from Görlitz and Sorau, 39 miles westsouth-west from Liegnitz, in 51° 7' N. lat., 15° 17' E. long. Lauban is the seat of a chamber of commerce, and has a Roman Catholic and three Lutheran churches, a conventual house of the order of S. Magdalene, dating from the 14th century, a municipal library and museum, two hospitals, an orphanage, a gymnasium, and a collegiate institute for girls. The industrial establishments comprise tobacco, yarn, thread, and linen and woollen cloth manufactories, bleaching, calendering, and dyeing works, a bell-foundry, tilekilns, breweries, and oil and flour mills. In 1880 the population was 10,779.

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. In 1815 it was the last Saxon town that made its submission to Prussia.