In the document of Meissen bishop Bruno II Löbau, as an oppidum, was first mentioned in 1221. This term means a small urban-type settlement with a trading place. Once an even larger marketplace suggests that the city was founded for long-distance trade. Jurisdiction was exercised for 36 villages in the 14th century.
Of particular importance for Löbau was the creation of the The the Upper Lusatian Six Towns League in 1346. It consisted of the towns along the Via Regia (the Royal Lusatian Road): Budziszyn (Bautzen), Zgorzelec (Görlitz), Kamenz, Zittau, Löbau and Luban (Lauban). Wars and fires have often caused serious damage and delays in the development of the city. In 1429 the whole town burned down, only the church of St. Nicholas and the monastery remained.
The city of Löbau suffered the hardest blow in its history in 1547. During the Emerald War, the Protestant cities of Upper Lusatia fell. The Czech King Ferdinand I limited the arbitrary importance of the cities by abolishing privileges and imposing drastic fines. Cities, including Löbau, lost all their assets and many of their prerogatives. Gradually, however, from 1576 onwards, the cities have been buying up their property and slowly coming out of punishment. In the 18th century, weaving and flax trading were the dominant industries.
In 1835, with industrialization, a new flourishing of the town began. Many factories and the regional railway line Paris-Warsaw brought employment and prosperity. After 1890, food industry factories and processing plants were established and the associated housing development outside the old city walls.
1221 - first documented mention of the town of Löbau as "Opidum Lubaw", founding the town as a trading settlement around 1200.
1306-1317 - The Weichbild Law Book was created; 24 villages in the area came under the jurisdiction of Löbau.
1311 - Löbau bought the Kottmar forest (180 hectares) for 80 silver marks.
1346 - foundation of the Upper Lusatian Six Towns League with Bautzen, Görlitz, Zittau, Luban, Kamenz and Löbau.
1429 - Hussites besieged and conquered Löbau, the heyday of cloth making came to an end.
1547 - Pönfall, a punishment of the king against the six cities of the Upper Lusatia.
1630 - Establishment of the Council Library.
1635 - The Peace of Prague brought Lower and Upper Lusatia to Electorate of Saxony.
1708 - Canvas merchants established a trading company (foreign trade), linen weaving is the main source of income.
1710 - the great fire destroyed the city centre.
1729 - three post pillars were erected after King Augustus the Strong extended and measured the road infrastructure.
1785 - the Sächsische Postillon, which was a regional newspaper till 1945, was published.
1786 - in Löbau, Karl Preusker, father of Saxon prehistoric research, was born.
1835 - foundation of the first factory, Hildebrandt's red and coloured yarn dyeing factory in Löbau, later paper mills, weaving mills and machine factories.
1844 - foundation of the only and well-known yarn market in Upper Lusatia in Löbau.
1846 - inauguration of the railway line from Bautzen to Löbau, establishment of the Actien brewery.
1847 - opening of a railway viaduct (nine arches) on the Löbau-Görlitz section for the Paris-Warsaw connection.
1854 - building a cast iron lookout tower at Löbauer Berg Hill.
1855 - New Saxon Code of Criminal Procedure, the author was a lawyer from Löbau, Dr Louis Friedrich Oskar von Schwarze.
1859-1890 - Industrialisation boom, establishment of August Förster piano factory, Ernst button factory, shoe and pasta factory, sugar factory, malt factory, Kniepert rubber factory, carbon dioxide factory, stone shop, gold factory; Saxony's most important grain market.
1873 - The Royal Teachers' Seminary is inaugurated in some rooms of the Preusker School. Under the direction of the regional master builder Dreßler from Pirna, the present A-building of the Geschwister Scholl Grammar School was constructed.
1906 - building of the Herrmannbad, at that time the most modern outdoor pool in Saxony with hot water supply from the brewery.
1912 - building Jägerkaserne (military barracks).
1933 - Schminke House, designed by Prof. Hans Scharoun, was built.
1935 - "Heimatfest für das ganze Volk" was held in Löbau in memory of the Prague Peace Treaty of 1635 and the attachment of Upper Lusatia to Saxony.
1945 - at the end of the war, the retreating Wehrmacht blew up all the important bridges, including the viaduct and the 'Hindenburg Bridge', surrendering the city without a fight; with almost 13,000 inhabitants, circa 350 people died in the war.
1950 - inauguration of the "Stadium der Jugend" with almost 15,000 visitors; the sports facility at the foot of Löbauer Berg was then "the most beautifully situated stadium in East Saxony".
1960 - construction work began on the Löbau-Süd district, followed by blocks of flats in the Nord, Ost, Süd II.
1963 - foundation of the Officers' College in the barracks in Löbau, later: "The Ernst Thälmann College of the German Land Forces".
1984 - varied industry in Löbau: Anker-Teigwarenfabrik VEB, Zuckerfabrik Löbau VEB, Bauelemente Löbau VEB (B), Förster Pianos Löbau VEB, Schuhfabrik Seifhennersdorf VEB Werk Trabant Löbau, Vereinigte Grobgarnwerke Kirschau VEB Werk Löbau, Lausitzer Granit Demitz-Thumitz VEB Betriebsteil Löbau, Oberlausitzer Textilbetriebe VEB.
1988 - the construction of a new television tower on Schafberg hill with the Mil-Mi-8 helicopter; for travellers, this is one of Löbau's most visible landmarks.
1990 - signing of a town-twinning with the city of Ettlingen; the closure of most of the companies in Löbau due to a change in ownership, continued: Förster Piano Factory, Löbau Sugar Factory.
1991 - on the occasion of the 770th anniversary of the founding of Löbau in 1991, the Upper Lusatian Six Towns League was reborn.
1993 - it was decided on 25.05.1993 to merge the districts of Löbau and Zittau to form the Saxonian district of Upper Lusatia, later Löbau-Zittau district, with Zittau as the district seat.
1994 - re-opening of the cast iron tower after reconstruction.
1998 - signing of a town twinning agreement with the Polish town of Luban.
2000 - conversion of Löbau into Große Kreisstadt Löbau.
2008 - as part of the new district reform, the districts of Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis, the independent city of Görlitz and the district of Löbau-Zittau were combined into the administrative district of Görlitz (Landkreis Görlitz).
2012 - Löbau is hosting the "6th Saxon Horticultural Exhibition" in a specially designed Trade Fair and Exhibition Park (former sugar factory).
2015 - another big event is coming up. With the organisation of the Saxon State Harvest Festival, the city shows that it can celebrate and above all organise festivals.
2017 - drawing on the experience of previous events, Löbau organised the 26th "Saxon Day", Saxony's largest association festival. On the first weekend in September around 250,000 visitors came to the Große Kreisstadt Löbau.
The city coat of arms has appeared in many forms in the history of Löbau. In past centuries different representations were used depending on the taste of the time. The binding document "Acta des Königli. Hauptstaatsarchiv zu Dresden" with references to specifications of the appearance of Löbau's coat of arms, dates from 1897.
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