The rural community Lauscha, located in the Thuringian Slate Mountains and on the eastern edge of the Thuringian Forest, is considered the birthplace of the glass Christmas tree ball and an important place of activity in the art of glassblowing.

At the end of the 16th century, Lauscha was founded by the construction of a glassworks. The glassmakers Hans Greiner and Christoph Müller received the concession for a glassworks from Duke Johann Casimir zu Sachsen-Coburg on January 10, 1597. From the middle of the 19th century, especially the glass Christmas tree and Christmas ornaments began its triumphal procession via the Sonneberg toy publishers to decorate the Christmas trees of the world and thus made Lauscha known worldwide.

Today, in addition to the Museum of Glass Art, which gives an insight into the life and work of glassblowers of the past and present, visitors to the town can expect to see many show workshops and stores where art glassblowers demonstrate their craft and offer their unique pieces for sale.

But Lauscha is not only worth a visit because of the glass. Slate-roofed houses, green forests, fragrant meadows and lively babbling brooks give the region a special character and the picturesquely situated resort is a good starting point for a variety of leisure activities all year round. For alpine winter sports enthusiasts, the cross-country ski trails around Lauscha and the district of Ernstthal offer a total of about 60 km of ski trails. The ski paradise Ernstthal at the Pappenheimer mountain with three slopes between 834,5 m above sea level and 740 m above sea level, a ski lift, a ski rental station, the Bratwurst cross-country ski trail on the plateau and a 2 km long natural toboggan run to Lauscha is also available. In addition, the Silbersattel ski arena in Steinach is easily accessible.

Outside the ski season, extensive hiking trails such as the Rennsteig, the hiking trails "Glas & Schiefer-Wanderweg", the "Glashütten-Rundweg", the "Brunnenroute", the "6-Kuppensteig" and the hiking routes "Rund um Lauscha" and "Rund um den Lauschenstein" invite you to explore and actively relax. The summer toboggan run in the district of Ernstthal and the heated adventure pool in the Steinachgrund round out the offerings of the tradition-rich village.