[5] A trade route was established that run through the town between Bohemia proper and Bohemian-ruled Brandenburg.

[8] In the late 19th century, the inhabitants were mostly employed in pottery, tile production and farming.

[8] During World War II, on April 16, 1945, it was the site of a battle, in which the Polish Second Army defeated the Germans and captured the town.

Points of interest include the former site of the Castle Rothenburg (b.1686-WWII) which once laid on the edge of the main town square, the dam on the Neisse River once used as a bathing area for locals, and Martinshof, a still operational home and complex for the mentally and physically disabled, the innovative brainchild of Friedrich von Martin in 1883.

Most of the first houses and barns of the establishment still remain, bearing the original biblical names given to them by Martin himself, such as "Bethlehem".