Laußnitzer Heide, Special Protection Area in Radeburg and Laußnitz, Germany

Laußnitzer Heide is a protected forest area northeast of Dresden consisting of pines, spruces, and larches mixed with scattered deciduous trees. The landscape comprises a varied composition of tree species distributed across gentle slopes and open clearings.

Three villages within today's forest, Nicklasdorf, Johnsdorf and Gumprechtsdorf, were destroyed in the Hussite wars of 1431 and never rebuilt; the ruins of Nicklasdorf's church were reportedly demolished in 1836 by forester Friedrich August Kasten. The Wettin rulers used the woods for hunting, and heavy game browsing and unregulated logging cut the deciduous stock sharply in the 18th and 19th centuries. Replanting with pines and spruces began in 1811, driven mainly by Heinrich von Cotta.

The forest takes its name from Laußnitz, once a Kammergut of the Saxon electors, who used the woods for hunting. Three villages inside today's forest — Nicklasdorf, Johnsdorf and Gumprechtsdorf — were destroyed in the Hussite wars of 1431 and never rebuilt. A stone marking the site of Nicklasdorf's church was reportedly broken up in 1836 and its stones used to improve the forest tracks.

The forest is crossed by straight, grid-like tracks laid out for hunting; the Flügel C now runs through the bed of the former Schwarzer Teich, drained around 1850. The Dammweg follows the old dam at its southern shore. The fire watchtower on the Hintere Buchberg (254 m) is not open to the public, and the wooded hills offer no views over the heath.

The wolf monument in Laußnitzer Heide commemorates the last wolf hunt of 1740, when the final wolf was shot. Since 2019 the forest has again been the territory of a wolf pack. Near the monument on the B 97 stands a royal Saxon half-mile stone from 1836, now in poor condition.