Situated north of the Jizera Mountains on the western shore of the Kwisa River, Lubań is considered part of the historic Upper Lusatia region, although it was more closely associated with Lower Silesia in the early 14th century and from 1815.

Like several other town foundings under the rule of the Přemyslid dynasty, owing to its favourable location on the historic Via Regia trade route close to the border with the Duchy of Silesia, Luban expanded rapidly.

[8] The centre of the medieval town was a square marketplace with perpendicular streets, leading to four gates: Görlitzer Tor (Zgorzelecka) to the west, Brüdertor (Bracka), built in 1318 together with stone curtains by Duke Henry of Jawor, to the south, Nikolaitor (Mikołajska) to the east and Naumburger Tor (Nowogrodziecka) to the north.

Under the rule of Bohemian king Charles IV of Luxembourg, Luban on 10 August 1346 established the Lusatian League, together with the towns of Budissin (Upper Sorbian: Budyšin), Görlitz (Zhorjelc), Kamenz (Kamjenc), Löbau (Lubij) and Zittau (Žitawa).

[9] In the 15th and 16th century, brewing prospered, with local beer being popular throughout Lusatia and Silesia, it was even served in the famous Piwnica Świdnicka in Breslau (Wrocław).

[11] With the 1635 Peace of Prague, the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand II in his capacity as Bohemian king passed Lusatia with the town to the Electorate of Saxony.

[11] The 1733 royal election of his son August III of Poland was celebrated even more grandly, with five parades of municipal self-defense troops taking place.

[11] Following the Napoleonic wars, in 1815 the Lusatian territory around Lauban and Görlitz fell to the Kingdom of Prussia after the Vienna Congress and was incorporated into the Province of Silesia.

During World War I, Lauban was the site of a large prisoner-of-war camp, whose first prisoners, from September 1914, were soldiers of Imperial Russia, including Poles and Georgians conscripted into the Russian army (large parts of Polish and Georgian lands were under Russian rule before regaining independence by both countries in 1918).

[15] During World War II, the Nazis created numerous forced labor camps in the town, the largest of which was Wohnheimlager GEMA, in which Polish and Russian women were imprisoned.

After it was taken in the Upper Silesian Offensive by the Red Army on 16 February 1945, the Wehrmacht successfully retook the town in a counterattack on 8 March 1945.

In 1945–46, the remaining German inhabitants were expelled, also in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement, and the town was repopulated by Poles, including expellees from former eastern Poland, which was annexed by the Soviet Union.

There are the following workplaces in Lubań: There are also the following notable companies: In terms of entertainment and consumption, the town offers clubs, restaurants, swimming pools, a cinema and a small modern shopping centre.

[23] Lubań has a hospital, the Lucjan Kopeć Lusatian Medical Centre (Łużyckie Centrum Medyczne im.