Calw

Calw is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is the main town of the area called Calw. The town is in the Northern Black Forest, about 18 kilometers south of Pforzheim and 33 kilometers west of Stuttgart. Calw has special duties and powers in the area. This is because it is a große Kreisstadt.

Geography

Location

Calw is in the valley of the Nagold in the Northern Black Forest. It is between 330 and 630 metres (1,080–2,070 ft) above sea level. The old part of town is west of the river. Newer parts are on the slopes around it. Small streams flow through the town. These include the Tälesbach, Ziegelbach, Wurstbrunnenbach, Schießbach, Schlittenbach, and Schweinbach. There is a cave called the Bruderhöhle in the north.

Neighbouring communities

These towns border Calw (going clockwise from the north): Bad Liebenzell, Althengstett, Gechingen, Wildberg, Neubulach, Bad Teinach-Zavelstein, Neuweiler, Bad Wildbad, and Oberreichenbach. All are in the Calw district.

Subdivisions

Calw has 13 smaller parts called Stadtteile. These are: Altburg, Oberriedt, Speßhardt, Spindlershof, Weltenschwann, Calw, Alzenberg, Heumaden, Wimberg, Hirsau, Ernstmühl, Holzbronn, and Stammheim. The part named Calw is the historic town centre. Some of these parts grew from old villages. These villages are Altburg, Alzenberg, Hirsau, Holzbronn, and Stammheim.

History

Calw was first mentioned in records in 1037. It grew around an old castle that belonged to the Counts of Calw. In the Middle Ages, Calw became a busy trading town, especially for cloth and leather.

In 1345, Calw became part of Württemberg. By the 1500s, it served as a summer home for the Dukes of Württemberg. The town grew more in the 1700s through the lumber trade along the Nagold River.

After World War II, Calw became part of the new state of Baden-Württemberg. The famous author Hermann Hesse, who won a Nobel Prize, was born in Calw.

Religious history

Calw was originally part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer. In 1534, the area adopted the Reformation, and Calw became a seat of a deanery that still exists today. The town has several Protestant congregations, including one in the town center and others in nearby villages.

In the 1800s, Catholics returned to Calw and established a parish. Today, Calw is also home to congregations of the United Methodist Church, the New Apostolic Church, and the Seventh-day Adventists.

Population

The population numbers for Calw come from census results or data from statistical offices.

Politics

Municipal council

Since June 2009, the municipal council of Calw has had thirty members. Before that, there were twenty-seven. The Lord Mayor leads the council and has a vote.

Mayor

Since the 15th century, Calw has chosen a new mayor every two years. In 1976, the mayor’s title changed to Lord Mayor. There is also a deputy mayor.

Mayors and lord mayors

• 1799–1802: Ernst Friedrich Wagner
• 1802–1809: Ernst Bernhard Wagner
• 1809–1817: Johann Gottfried Konrad und Johann Naschold
• 1817–1820: Carl Friedrich von Gärtner
• 1820–1826: Johann Jakob Hess
• 1826–1835: Johann Friedrich Dreiß
• 1835–1884: Christian Friedrich Schuldt
• 1884–1902: Hermann Haffner
• 1902–1918: Eduard Conz
• 1918–1946: Otto Göhner
• 1946–1948: Oskar Blessing
• 1948–1965: Reinhold Seeber
• 1965–1991: Karl-Heinz Lehmann
• 1991–1998: Herbert Karl
• 1999–2003: Werner Spec (no party)
• 2003–2011: Manfred Dunst (Free Voters)
• 2011–2019: Ralf Eggert (no party)
• since 2019: Florian Kling (SPD)

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Calw shows a red lion with a blue tongue and blue crown on a blue hill with three ridges, all on a golden background. The town’s flag is red and gold. The lion stands for the town’s old rulers, the counts of Calw. The coat of arms has been used for centuries and was approved again in 1976.

Economy

Calw is a place where many people have jobs. Over 8,000 people work there. Most of them, more than 5,200, work in services such as shops and offices. About 2,700 people work making things, like in factories or building.

Transport

Calw has several roads called Bundesstraßen (federal highways). These include numbers 295, 296, and 463. The road called Bundesstraße 296 has two lanes and helps cars pass slower vehicles.

There is a train line called the Nagold Valley Railway. It goes from Pforzheim to Hochdorf in Nagold. It has two stops in Calw: one near the main bus station and another in Hirsau. There used to be another train station, but it is no longer used for trains.

Many bus lines help people travel around Calw. These buses go to nearby places such as Unterreichenbach, Böblingen, Sindelfingen, Weil der Stadt, and Herrenberg.

Government and military

Calw is the main town for the Calw District. It has important offices such as a tax office and a local court.

Since 1996, a special group of the German Army has been based in Graf Zeppelin barracks near Heumaden in Calw. This group is known as the Kommando Spezialkräfte.

Culture, art, and tourism

Calw has a small historic center that stayed mostly the same after the last big war. Visitors enjoy the town's marketplace and the Nikolausbrücke, an old bridge. The town has many shops, restaurants, bistros, and ice-cream parlors for tourists.

In the 1970s, part of the historic center became a shopping area. After that, the main part of town became a place for people to walk. Some buildings made of concrete, like a bus station and a parking garage, have been there for years near the Nagold River. A newer shopping center built around the year 2000 is close to the historic center.

One of the biggest cultural events in Calw is the Calw Hermann Hesse Prize. Every two years, it honors special books and people who translate the works of Hermann Hesse. Experts from around the world meet in Calw to talk about Hesse's ideas. Every year, a theater festival called "Calwer Klostersommer in Hirsau" happens in the old Monastery of St. Peter und Paul. The town is also known for its music, especially the Aurelius Boys' Choir, which is famous even outside of Baden-Württemberg. There are also concert series held in the Evangelical Lutheran Stadtkirche and in the St. Aurelius Church.

Notable people

• Johannes Valentinus Andreae (1586–1654), a clergyman linked to Rosicrucianism
• Gottfried von Calw (died 1131), a Count Palatine of the Rhine, from 1113 to 1129
• Ulrich Rülein von Calw (1465–1523), a doctor, mathematician, astrologer, town planner, and mayor of Freiberg
• Joseph Gärtner (1732–1791), a botanist who studied seeds
• Karl Friedrich von Gaertner (1772–1850), a botanist and the son of Joseph Gaertner
• August Friedrich Gfrörer (1803–1861), a historian and a member of the Frankfurt National Assembly
• Hermann Gundert (1814–1893), a scholar of Indian languages who translated the Malayalam bible, and grandfather of Hermann Hesse
• Hermann Hesse (1877–1962), a Swiss writer and painter who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946
• Frank Hölzle (born 1968), a professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery
• Peter Lehmann (born 1950), a social scientist and honorary doctor of the University of Thessaloniki, Knight of the Federal Cross of Merit
• Jörg Lutz (born 1963), an independent politician and mayor of Lörrach
• Konrad Rieger (1855–1939), a psychiatrist
• Rudolf Schlichter (1890–1955), a painter, engraver, and writer

Sport

• Brothers Sascha Goc (born 1979), Marcel Goc (born 1983), and Nikolai Goc (born 1986), ice hockey players
• Chantal Hagel (born 1998), a footballer who played for the Germany women team

Twinnings

Calw works with other towns. It has partnerships with Weida in Thuringia, Germany, and with Latsch in South Tyrol, Italy. These partnerships help the towns learn from each other.