The formerly free mining town (Bergstadt) of Lautenthal in Germany is a state-recognised, climatic spa with around 1,570 inhabitants[1] and has been part of the borough of Langelsheim since 1972.
Lautenthal lies in the Innerste valley between Clausthal-Zellerfeld and Langelsheim in the northwestern Upper Harz.
Lautenthal was founded in 1538 as a mining settlement on the river Laute, a small tributary of the Innerste, and had already been given the status of a town by 1580.
In 1626, the town was plundered by the troops of Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly in the Thirty Years' War.
[1] With the closure of the mines in 1959 the town lost its significance and was incorporated into the borough of Langelsheim in 1972.