Laufen was Roman, Alemannic, belonged to Burgundy and during 87 days of the French Revolution was part of the «Raurachische Republik», which was annexed by France between 1793 and 1813, when Laufen became the capital of the French department of Mont Terrible. The Swiss Confederation was granted Laufen at the 1815 Vienna Congress and it became part of Canton Bern. Laufen changed cantons again in 1994 when it left Bern for Canton Basel Landschaft.

Laufen has a picturesque medieval old town with a partially preserved town wall and three gates, including the Obertor (clock tower) with its large clock face and astronomical timepiece. The town hall built in 1672 in baroque style was originally a nobleman’s seat before becoming a hospital. Today it houses the council offices. Restoration work in 1976 revealed a 17th century hunting fresco. Also worth seeing is the Katharinenkirche (church), built in 1698 against the town wall and containing altars, carved pulpit, late-Gothic Madonna and rococo statues dating from 1755.

At the place where the Birs cascades off a lime bank, river traffic was controlled and taxes levied. Today, these steps are a picturesque site along the Birs. The area surrounding Laufen has several hiking and discovery paths, including the anniversary path «700 Jahre Stadt Laufen» with clearings with barbecue spots and the Planetenweg (planet path) with a 1:1 billion scale model of the solar system. Situated directly above the Laufen basin is a small airfield with a 700 metre-long grass runway, which is predominantly used for gliding. The Laufental Museum near the Katharinenkirche offers an excursion through space and time stretching from Ammonites and sea urchins from the Jura sea through mammoth teeth, Stone Age finds and Roman excavations to recent history.