1945–1963: East Germany's dominant side

Historical chart of Erzgebirge league performance

The club was founded as SG Aue in 1945, and on 1 November 1948 became BSG Pneumatik Aue under the sponsorship of the local construction tool works. Changes in sponsorship led to a change in name to BSG Zentra Wismut Aue in 1949 and then simply to BSG Wismut Aue in 1951.^[1]

Historical logo of Wismut Aue

The club performed well, advancing through third- and second-tier play to the DDR-Oberliga in 1951. BSG Wismut Aue finished as national vice-champions in 1953 losing in a final to SG Dynamo Dresden by a score of 2–3.

The central sports association SV Wismut founded sports club SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt in the nearby city of Chemnitz – recently renamed Karl-Marx-Stadt – in 1954. The East German government urged that Karl-Marx-Stadt deserved a quality football team and plans were made for the football department of BSG Wismut Aue to move to Karl-Marx-Stadt and be incorporated into the new sports club SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt. However, local miners protested and players threatened to strike, leading to a partial abandonment of the plan.^[2] The football department of BSG Wismut Aue was still delegated to SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt, but the team would continue to play their matches at the Otto-Grotewohl-Stadion in Aue.^[2]

It was during this time that the club became a dominant force in East German football. They won the 1955 East German Cup and followed it up with four DDR-Oberliga titles in 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1959. They also competed in the 1959 East German Cup final, but lost 2–3 in a replay against SC Dynamo Berlin, following the clubs' 0–0 draw in the final.^[3] Those successes led to Aue's participation in the European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1958, 1959 and 1961.

1963–1991: With the DDR-Oberliga to the end

SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt merged with SC Motor Karl-Marx-Stadt to form SC Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1963. Since SC Motor Karl-Marx-Stadt had brought their own football department, the football department of SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt, once delegated from Aue, got back their independence and could be rejoined with BSG Wismut Aue.

The team continued to enjoy modest success by staying up in the top-tier DDR-Oberliga, and, although it did not win another championship, it holds the record for the most games played by any team in that league. Aue sits 4th on the all-time DDR-Oberliga list and over the course of thirty-eight years played more games (1,019 matches) than any other East German side. Just behind them, 6th place Rot-Weiß Erfurt played 1,001 matches.

BSG Wismut Aue also played in the UEFA Cup tournament in 1985–86 and 1987–88, going out in the first round against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in their first appearance and in the second round against Albanian side Flamurtari Vlorë in their second.^[4][5] After German reunification in 1990, the club was renamed FC Wismut Aue before taking on its current name, FC Erzgebirge Aue in 1993. The name "Erzgebirge", Ore Mountains in English, recognizes that the club's home is located in the western part of these mountains. Aue was relegated to the DDR-Liga Staffel B in the 1989–90 season, so it was admitted to the NOFV-Oberliga Süd, which was the fourth tier of the German League between 1991 and 2008, in the 1991–92 season.

1991–2003: Playing in united Germany

In the combined football leagues of the newly united Germany, Aue began playing in the NOFV-Oberliga Süd (IV). They competed in the DFB-Pokal for the first time in 1992. With the establishment of the Regionalliga Nordost (III) in 1994, Aue qualified for the new league. The club was moved to the Regionalliga Nord in 2000, and after a surprising league title there in 2003, they were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.

2003–present: 2. Bundesliga

Following a Regionalliga Nord title, Erzgebirge Aue were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga where they delivered mid-table performances in their first three seasons, but suffered relegation back to the third tier in 2008.^[6][7]

Aue became part of the new 3. Liga in the 2008 season. They finished runner-up in the league in their second season there, earning promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga. After a fifth-place finish in their first season back, the club struggled against relegation, finishing in the lower third of the table for the following few seasons.^[7]

On 6 February 2015, in a 2–0 home victory against RB Leipzig, Aue fans displayed two banners comparing RB Leipzig to Nazis.^[8] Aue were fined £25,000 for it and it was ruled that two blocks in their stadium be closed for 12 months.^[9] In the 2014–15 season, they were relegated back to the 3. Liga,^[10] only to be promoted back to the 2. Bundesliga the following season.^[11] The 2016–17 season saw Aue finish 14th,^[12] whilst they finished 16th in the 2017–18 season.^[13] They finished 14th in the 2018–19 season.^[14]

Current squad

As of 1 September 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  GER Martin Männel (captain) 2 MF  GER Tim Danhof 4 DF  GER Niko Vukancic 5 DF  GER Korbinian Burger 7 FW  GER Sean Seitz 8 MF  GER Joshua Schwirten 9 MF  GER Steffen Meuer 10 MF  MNE Mirnes Pepić 11 MF  MNE Omar Sijarić 12 MF  GER Franco Schädlich 13 MF  GER Erik Majetschak 14 FW  UKR Borys Tashchy 15 FW  GER Marcel Bär

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF  GER Finn Hetzsch 17 FW  GER Luc Thomas Elsner 21 DF  GER Marco Schikora 22 GK  GER Louis Lord 23 DF  GER Anthony Barylla 24 DF  GER Steffen Nkansah 25 GK  LUX Tim Kips 26 DF  GER Kilian Jakob 29 DF  GER Linus Rosenlöcher 30 FW  GER Maximilian Thiel 34 MF  GER Marvin Stefaniak 36 GK  GER Max Uhlig 40 DF  TUN Ramzi Ferjani

Internationals

East Germany internationals Bernhard Konik – 1 cap – (1984) Bringfried Müller – 18 caps – (1955–60) Dieter Erler – 47 caps – (1959–68; 25 LS for Aue) Erhard Bauer – 3 caps – (1954) Harald Mothes – 1 cap – (1984) Horst Freitag – 1 cap – (1957) Jörg Weißflog – 15 caps – (1984–89) Karl Wolf – 10 caps – (1954–57) Klaus Thiele – 4 caps – (1958–59) Konrad Wagner – 4 caps – (1959–63) Manfred Kaiser – 31 caps – (1955–64) Siegfried Wolf – 17 caps – (1955–59) Steffen Krauß – 2 caps – (1985) Willi Marquardt – 1 cap – (1956; for Rotation Babelsberg) Willy Tröger – 15 caps – (1954–59)

Other national teams Ervin Skela – 75 caps – (2000–11) Skerdilaid Curri – 1 cap – (2007) Dimitrij Nazarov – 22 caps – (2014–) Moudachirou Amadou – 17 caps – (1996–03) Dimitar Rangelov – 40 caps – (2004–16) Adam Petrouš – 4 caps – (2002–03) Richard Dostálek – 5 caps – (1996–03) David Siradze – 28 caps – (2004–11) Albert Bunjaku – 6 caps – (2014–16) Vīts Rimkus – 73 caps – (1995–08) Arvydas Novikovas – 58 caps – (2010–) Borislav Tomovski – 2 caps – (1994) Nikolče Noveski – 64 caps – (2004–13) Danny Sonner – 13 caps – (1997–04) Andrzej Juskowiak – 39 caps – (1992–01) Marcin Adamski – 3 caps – (2003–05) Tomasz Kos – 3 caps – (2000–02) Adam Nemec – 27 caps – (2006–19) Mišo Brečko – 77 caps – (2004–15) Bobby Wood – 29 caps – (2013–18)

as SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt

Season	Competition	Round	Nation	Club	Score
1957–58	European Clubs' Champions Cup	PR		Gwardia Warszawa	1–3, 3–1, 1–1
		R16		Ajax	1–3, 0–1
1958–59	European Clubs' Champions Cup	PR		Petrolul Ploiești	4–2, 0–2, 4–0
		R16		IFK Göteborg	2–2, 4–0
		QF		Young Boys	2–2, 0–0, 1–2
1960–61	European Clubs' Champions Cup	R16		Glenavon	walkover
		QF		Rapid Wien	1–3, 2–0, 0–1

as BSG Wismut Aue

Season	Competition	Round	Nation	Club	Score
1985–86	UEFA Cup	1/32		Dniprou Dnipropetrovsk	1–3, 1–2
1987–88	UEFA Cup	1/32		Valur	0–0, 1–1
		1/16		Flamurtari Vlorë	1–0, 0–2