Family Crest for Germanic Branch of Lauer Surname

Origins of the Germanic Surname Lauer

The Germanic branch of the Lauer surname has been traced back to Bohemia, a region that initially was Celtic and since 1993 has been incorporated into the independent Czech Republic. The name Bohemia is derived from the Boii, the name of a Celtic people who inhabited the area around the 5th century BC. Following the Celts the region was conquered and settled by members of the Markomannen people who invaded from the river Main territory. Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius attempted to invade the region in the second century. By the 6^th century, Czechs had started to settle the region. In this melting pot of ethnicity, the earliest references to the Lauer surname are found. From Bohemia, Lauer's also immigrated to Bavaria

Political power came to Bohemia following the arrival of Christianity, as Prague became the residence of a Roman Catholic Bishop. In the 10^th century, the ruling dukes of Bohemia became "Reichsfuersten" - Princes of the German Empire. In 1198, the elite were crowned Kings of Bohemia as well as Electors of the Kaiser. The Golden Age of Bohemia began in 1310 when Charles IV a member of the house of Luxembourg married into the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. Upon his coronation, he made Prague the Empire's capital.

It is thought that the name "Lauer" evolved from the Mediaeval word "lure" meaning a clever or sly person. "Der Bauer ist ein Lauer" is an old expression meaning "farmers are sly." Note the man in the Family Crest above is carrying a sickle - he's a farmer. There is a river named Lauer in Franconia; the literal meaning of "lure" is "clouded waters". Over time, all family names change in both spelling and pronunciation. This is particularly true of German names, which frequently are prefixed or suffixed with additional words to designate a person's occupation, place of origin, or personality. Some variations of the Lauer surname include: Laure, Lauerer, Laurer, Lauher, Lau, Laue, and Lur. Earliest written mention of this surname occurs with reference in ancient chronicles of a Friedrich Lur of Michelfeld in 1343.

Following the rise of Charles IV, Lauer's in this area became very affluent; they acquired estates in Austria, Silesia, Prussia, and Regensburg. The first branch of the Lauer family to become ennobled was that of Lauer von Lago und Loeweneck. This occurred in 1703 in the person of Johann Georg Joseph Laur a bookkeeper and tax collector in Silesia. Another branch was ennobled in 1724 in the person of Johann Franz Lauer, the Bohemian Minister of Mines and the Mint. Likewise in Austria, Lauer's became Lords and were prominent in the military; Franz von Lauer (d .1803) was a general in the royal army and an advisor to the King of Austria. His son, Lord Joseph von Lauer (d. 1848) was the commander of fortifications at Olmuetz. Lauers from the branch Lauer von Muenchhofen, were made Lords in Saxony. In 1817, Adolf Julius Lauer acquired large tracts of Land in Brandenburg, including the extensive Plaue on the Havel river. Famous in the 20^th century was Max von Laue (b. 1879), a German physicist and director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Berlin, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1914.

Today, articles in the ADAC (German equivalent to the American AAA) newsletter refer to stretches of the Autobahn that are being watch with radar as 'Lauer', meaning a place of ambush. The folklore is that after losing their noble status, many Lauer's turned to highway robbery.