Calw

More colorful houses

Calw, the main town in the Black Forest’s Nagold Valley, is a collection of streets filled with colorful half-timbered houses, most of which were built in the 17th and 18th centuries after a fire destroyed the town.

Typical landscape: side-by-side half-timbered houses

Angelo and Herman Hesse

Calw’s most famous resident was author Herman Hesse. Though Hesse was born and raised here, he spent most of his life in exile in Switzerland. The Herman Hesse museum is a main attraction.

Looking into Calw’s steep city center

I always like these descriptive signs

In the Middle Ages, Calw was an important cloth- and leather-trading town. In the 18th century, its main industry was lumber. Today, it appears to be tourism.

One of Calw’s main squares

In the 14th century, Calw became part of Württemberg; in the 16th century, the Duke of Württemberg made it his summer residence.

Calw is quite hilly