The Reitzenhain Pass is one of the oldest and most frequently used trade routes in Germany. It led from Hamburg via Lüneburg, Magdeburg, Halle, Leipzig, Chemnitz, Marienberg, and Reitzenhain to Prague, the imperial city of Vienna, Trieste, and finally Venice. At various times, it was known as the Salt Road or High Road, among other things. Around 1200, the connection between Komotau and Reitzenhain consisted of a sunken road, not yet developed but with a solid foundation. This connection was first documented in 1401 in a traffic ban issued by King Wenceslas IV of Bohemia as "Reiczenstein." In 1546, there was an inn with a fiefdom in the original town center. The current town name probably derives from this: the carters called every inn along the road "Han." Since, according to their calculations, the thirteenth "Han" stood at the spot where Reitzenhain now stands, this inn was initially called "Dreizehnhan" (Thirteen-Year-Old Inn). This eventually evolved into the name Reitzenhain as early as 1546.