An early local legend apparently involves the Virgin Mary appearing to a founder and saying, "Here you will build a haven for laborers.

"[3][better source needed] The settlement later flourished as a mining area by the Late Middle Ages, of which it was part of Electoral Saxony.

Before the end of the Cold War and fall of the communist regime, over 20,000 workers died from harsh labor, radiation and other pollution.

Conditions were so bad, the local saying of the region was "Kumpels sterben früher", German for: "Buddies (miners/coworkers in this context) die young".

Exposed to radon, arsenic, radioactive dust, lead, and other toxic compounds, an estimated 10–15,000 deaths are expected from illnesses such as cancer.[when?