Calw

Calw

Coat of arms
Calw

Coordinates: 48°43′0″N 8°44′0″E / 48.71667°N 8.73333°E / 48.71667; 8.73333Coordinates: 48°43′0″N 8°44′0″E / 48.71667°N 8.73333°E / 48.71667; 8.73333
Country Germany
State Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region Karlsruhe
District Calw
Government
 • Mayor Ralf Eggert
Area
 • Total 59.88 km2 (23.12 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
 • Total 23,232
 • Density 390/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 75351-75365
Dialling codes 07051, 07053
Vehicle registration CW
Website calw.de

Calw (German pronunciation: [ˈkalf]; locally [kʰalp]) is a town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital of the district Calw. It is located in the Northern Black Forest and is approximately 18 kilometres south of Pforzheim and 33 kilometres west of Stuttgart.

History

Calw was first mentioned in records in 1037.[2] In the 11th century, the town grew around the older castle of the Grafen (Earls) of Calw. In the Middle Ages, Calw was an important commercial town, especially for the trade of cloth and leather. In 1345, Calw became part of Württemberg,[2] and by the 16th century, it had become the summer residence of the Duke of Württemberg. In 1634 the town was taken by the Bavarians, and in 1692 by the French.[2] In the 18th century, Calw flourished from the lumber trade and rafting of timber on the river Nagold.

Due to her romantic relationship with a Polish guest worker, seventeen-year-old Calw resident Erna Brehm was publicly shaved bald in the town's market square in August 1941. She served eight months in jail in Calw and Stuttgart for violating Nazi Rassenschande ("racial shame") laws before being deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp. She was released on 1 April 1944 because she was in such poor health that she was no longer able to work. She was extremely underweight (reportedly only 34.5 kilograms or 76 pounds) and died on 19 August 1951 at the age of twenty-seven.[3]

During World War II, a small subcamp of Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp, where parts for aircraft were assembled by female forced laborers, was located here.[4] The most prominent resident of Calw was the author and Nobel prize winner Hermann Hesse.

The district reform of 1 January 1973 gave 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 municipalities of Altburg, Hirsau and Stammheim into the town of Calw-Hirsau. On 1 January 1976, it was renamed as Calw.

Politics

Municipal council

Since the municipal elections of 7 June 2009 the municipal council of Calw has had a total of thirty members (previously there were only twenty-seven). Furthermore, the Lord Mayor (in German "Oberbürgermeister") acts as the chairperson of the council. The result of the last election was:

Party Percentage of Votes + / - Seats + / -
Free Voters 35.7% - 3.6 11 ± 0
Christian Democratic Union 23.4% - 1.2 7 ± 0
Social Democratic Party 14.0% - 2.0 4 ± 0
Free Democratic Party / Green Party 19.5% + 2.6 6 + 2
Neue Liste Calw 7.5% + 3.9 2 + 1

Mayor

By the 15th century Calw had an electoral system that chose a new mayor every two years. Proof exists for a council as far back as 1453.

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)
  • since 2011: Ralf Eggert (no party)

Population developement

Data sources: census results (¹) or data from the Statistical offices

Year / Datum Inhabitants
1525 ca. 1.500
1622 2.545
1702 1.896
1803 3.199
1849 4.529
1. December 1871 5.582
1. December 1880 ¹ 4.662
1. December 1890 ¹ 4.522
1. December 1900 ¹ 4.943
1. December 1910 ¹ 5.595
16. June 1925 ¹ 5.681
16. June 1933 ¹ 5.478
17. May 1939 ¹ 6.160
Year / Date Einwohner
1946 6.795
13. September 1950 ¹ 7.416
6. June 1961 ¹ 9.690
27. May 1970 ¹ 13.075
31. December 1975 21.561
31. December 1980 23.165
27. May 1987 ¹ 21.018
31. December 1990 22.668
31. December 1995 23.709
31. December 2000 23.357
31. December 2005 23.828
31. December 2010 23.230
31. December 2015 23.232

Important facts and figures about Calw

Tourism and importance

Calw is heavily pedestrianised, and has begun catering for the tourist trade with numerous shops, restaurants, bistros and ice-cream parlours being opened. This growth has allowed Calw to be considered a large town at the centre of its district.

Famous residents

Konrad Rieger
Hermann Hesse in 1905

Twinnings

References

  1. ↑ "Gemeinden in Deutschland nach Fläche, Bevölkerung und Postleitzahl am 30.09.2016". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 2016.
  2. 1 2 3  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Calw". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  3. ↑ http://www.zeit.de/1985/06/verbotene-liebe/komplettansicht
  4. ↑ Concentration Camp Listing
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