Editing Lauenburg (section)

==History==
The town was founded in 1182 by [[Bernard III, Duke of Saxony|Bernard]] of [[House of Ascania|Ascania]], the ancestor of the [[Duke of Lauenburg|Dukes of Lauenburg]]. It took its name from that of the castle of ''Lowenborch'' (erected here between 1181 and 1182), deriving from ''Lave'', the [[Polabian language|Polabian-language]] name of the Elbe (compare modern [[Czech language|Czech]] ''Labe'').

Following the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Lauenburg was ceded by Prussia to [[Denmark]] in exchange for the region of Pomerania.
[[File:Lauenburg Schloss 16. Jhd.JPG|thumb|left|Lauenburg Castle at the end of the 16th century]]
[[Saxe-Lauenburg]] was a [[duchy]] until 1 July 1876, when it was incorporated into the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Royal Prussian]] [[Province of Schleswig-Holstein]]. Lauenburg served as the ducal capital until 1616, when the castle burnt down. In 1619 the capital was moved to [[Ratzeburg]]. The area of the duchy was roughly identical with that of today's district. In medieval times Lauenburg was a waypoint on the [[Old Salt Route]], while today it is the southern terminus of the [[Elbe-Lübeck Canal]].

Between 1945 and 1982, Lauenburg served as West German [[inner German border]] crossing for cars travelling along [[Bundesstraße 5]] between the [[Soviet Zone of occupation in Germany]] (till 1949), thereafter the East [[German Democratic Republic]], or [[West Berlin]] and the British zone of occupation (till 1949) and thereafter the West German [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]]. The traffic was subject to the [[Interzonal traffic]] regulations that between West Germany and West Berlin followed the special regulations of the [[Transit Agreement (1972)]].