LAUCHSTADT  , a

town of Germany in the province of Prussian Saxony, on the Laucha, 6 m . N.W. of Merseburg by the railway to Schafstadt . Pop . (1905) 2034 . It contains an Evangelical church, a theatre, a hydropathic establishment and several educational institutions, among which is an agricultural school affiliated to the university of Halle . Its industries include malting, vinegar-making and brewing . Lauchstadt was a popular watering-place in the 18th century, the dukes of Saxe-Merseburg often making it their summer residence . From 1789 to 1811 the Weimar court theatrical company gave performances here of the plays of Schiller and Goethe, an attraction which greatly contributed to the well-being of the town . See Maak, Das Goethetheater in Lauchstadt (Lauchstadt, 1905) ; and Nasemann, Bad Lauchstadt (Halle, 1885) .