The site was first mentioned in 1158, and received city rights in 1293. The only remnant of the fortifications built to defend in the late Middle Ages is a tower, which was adapted and used as a bell tower by St John's Church. A gate was erected in 1555 which divided the city centre from its western suburbs; this gate was demolished in 1793. Lüchow suffered from an outbreak of the Plague in 1537, and barely half a century later, in 1589, was largely destroyed by fire. Another fire in 1608 destroyed much of what had been rebuilt. The worst fire, in 1811, destroyed even the city hall and the Schloss.