The timberland community of Schleifreisen looks back on a varied history beginning in the 13th century. The village lies on the southern flank of the upper Zeitzgrund in the middle of the Saale-Elster bunt sandstone plateau. South of the village there is an extensive plateau, which is mainly used for agriculture. Due to the construction of the Reichsautobahn in the mid-1930s, the plateau area was cut up by the highways Frankfurt/Main-Dresden and Berlin-Munich, and the "Hermsdorfer Kreuz" (Hermsdorf intersection) was built on the Schleifreisener Flur. The name of the village, pronounced Schleefräsen in dialect, was "Sleifrisen" in 1351, "Sloffriesen" in 1414, "Sleiffriesen" in 1447, "Sleifrisen" in 1488 and "Schleifreisen" in 1525.