Luckau

Luckau prospered at a crossing of trade routes in Lower Lusatia. In 1290 it obtained the right to hold livestock markets and collect tolls, later acquiring minting rights as well. Its merchants and guilds built a walled town whose churches and market square reflected its regional importance. The estates of Lower Lusatia chose Luckau as their capital in 1480, a title confirmed by the king of Bohemia in 1492. The Peace of Prague transferred the margravate from Bohemian suzerainty to Saxony in 1635. During the Napoleonic wars, a battle near Luckau in 1813 interrupted a French advance; two years later Lower Lusatia passed to Prussia.