Calw was first mentioned in records in 1037. In the 11th century, the town grew around the older castle of the '''' (Counts/Earls) of Calw. In the Middle Ages, Calw was an important commercial town, especially in the cloth and leather trades. In 1345, Calw became part of
Württemberg, After the
World War II, Calw fell into the French zone of occupation and thus came to the newly founded state of Württemberg-Hohenzollern in 1947. In 1952, the provisional post-war state in the administrative region of South Württemberg-Hohenzollern merged and has since belonged to the new state of Baden-Württemberg. The most prominent resident of Calw was the
author and
Nobel prize winner Hermann Hesse. The district reform of 1 January 1973 gave the district of Calw its current size. It became a part of the newly founded
Northern Black Forest Region, which itself was assigned to the administrative region of
Karlsruhe. On 1 January 1975, Calw was combined with the communities of Altburg,
Hirsau and
Stammheim into the town of Calw-Hirsau. On 1 January 1976, the combined municipality was renamed as Calw.
Religious history Calw was originally part of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer. From 1534, in Calw as in the rest of the Duchy of Württemberg, the Reformation took force. In 1555, Calw became the seat of a
deanery, which still exists today. The Deanery of Calw encompasses 43 congregations of the
Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg. In the town of Calw there is the greater congregation of Calw, comprising the town-centre congregation (Calw Stadtkirche), the Bergkirche congregation of Wimberg/Alzenberg, and the Versöhnungskirche congregation of Heumaden, of which the last two came into existence only after the arrival of
Heimatvertriebene after World War II. There are also congregations in the villages of Altburg, Hirsau, Holzbronn und Stammheim. There is also a congregation of the
United Methodist Church, an independent Protestant church, in Calw. In the 19th century, Catholics returned to Calw. In 1885–1886, they founded the parish of St. Josef, which later became the seat of a deanery within the diocese of Rottenburg (today
Rottenburg-Stuttgart). The parish of St. Josef covers the entire territory of the town as well as several surrounding communities. The
New Apostolic Church is represented in Calw and in the villages or hamlets of Heumaden, Holzbronn, and . A congregation of
Seventh-day Adventists was founded in Calw in 1914.
Population Populations within the town limits of Calw as defined for each date; the numbers are estimates or census results of the respective statistical agencies (by primary residence): Data sources: census results (¹) or data from statistical offices == Politics ==