Nagold

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Bus station in Nagold

Nagold is a town in southern Germany bordering the Northern Black Forest. It is located in the Landkreis (district) Calw (Germany/Baden-Württemberg) and has about 23.000 inhabitants. Nagold is known for its castle ruin Hohen Nagold and its viaduct.

Nagold has a beautiful city centre where half-timbered houses and modern architecture meet each other. The following small villages belong to the district of Nagold: Emmingen, Gündringen, Hochdorf, Iselshausen, Mindersbach, Pfrondorf, Schietingen and Vollmaringen. The mayor of Nagold is Dr. Rainer Prewo who is a member of the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany).

Nagold is also the name of an approx. 60 mile long river that has its source in the Northern Black Forest and meets the river Enz in Pforzheim, see River Nagold.

Castle ruin Hohen Nagold (Black Forest tourist information/German): [1]

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Notable half-timbered house in Nagold

The Nagold Basin was probably occupied as long as the early Stone Age -- 2,000 to 3,000 B.C. With its fertile soil and mild middle mountain climate, the basin afforded ideal possibilities for settlement. Traces of early human occupation from the Halstatt Period (700 B.C. to 450 B.C.) have been found in the "Bächle" area. The Celts were in the Nagold basin by the 6th and 5th centuries B.C. They are responsible for naming the river Nagold, meaning "flowing stretch of water". A Celtic royal burial mound (locally called Krautbühl) and signs of numerous settlements and graves have been found on Schlossberg.

By the time of Christ, the Romans had established two settlements in the basin. One of these settlements was unearthed in the 7th century A.D. during construction of Remigiuskirche. Stone walls from the remains were used in the Remigiuskirche foundation.

The Allemanic forced the Romans from the Nagold Basin around 260 A.D. They emphasized settlement of the valley, and expanded their territory. Around 700 A.D. the Franks conquered the Allemanic. The Remigiuskirche was built during this time, and it is assumed the Franks established a court in the area. Nagold became the administrative center of the region which extended from Bondorf to Kniebis. Small towns and settlements began to spring up around Nagold. Pfalzgraf Rudolf von Tübingen established Nagold as a city early in the 13th century in order to protect his holdings in the northern Black Forest. Through marriage in 1230, Nagold came under the control of the Grafen von Hohenburg, who sped up development of the city. By the end of the 13th century, Nagold was encircled with a 5.5 meter high wall, complete with moat and gate towers. Around 1350, the Plague devastated the population.

Construction was begun on Marienkirche in 1360. The church was razed in 1876-1877, but an original tower built in 1401 still stands on Turmstrasse. In 1363 the Hohenbergs were forced out of Nagold, and the Dukes Erberhard and Ulrich von Württemberg bought the city. Nagold then served as a court city (Amstadt), and in 1806 was elevated to a high court city (Oberamtstadt), which lasted until being abolished in 1938.

In the 16th century farmers' uprisings lead to the departure of the aristocracy. Austria, always looking to expend the Habsburg domain, quickly moved into the Nagold area. Herzog Ulrich reclaimed his lands in 1534, and embraced Protestantism.

During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1647), the Burg Hohennagold (castle) was destroyed.

Parts of Nagold were destroyed in devastating fires in 1825, 1850, 1887, and 1893. Marktstrasse is one of the few streets in Nagold to have escaped destruction in the fires. A large of portion of the architecture on this street dates to the 18th century, and includes the three-story Rathaus (1756-1758), the Stadtbrunnen (city fountain), the Schmidschen Apoteke with rich ornamentation, and numerous Fachwerk (timbered) house from the 17th century. Other architectural treasures are scattered through the city. Among these are the Alte Schule (1706) and the Alte Vogtei with Celtic origins. The hotel "Alte Post" (1699) served as stop on the old mail line between Stuttgart and Freudenstadt. The Oberamtei (14th century) is located on Oberamteistrasse, and was the location of the high court (Oberamt) from 1812 until 1938.

As early as 1924, Nagold was a NSDAP (Nazi) stronghold. According to voting statistics, 19.4% of the population voted NSDAP in May 1924. Comparatively, the NSDAP captured just 6.5% of the vote nationwide, and a mere 4.1% in Baden and Württemberg in the same election.

The Reunification of Germany in 1989 brought new hopes for the future of Germany and Nagold, but was quickly followed by the worst recessions in post-war history. Home construction, attraction of industry, and improvement of infrastructure have been difficult problems for Nagold. A city policy of construction combined with improvement of the old city center are cornerstones of the city planning. In 1992, the city swimming park was renovated, and in 1996 a new cultural center was built near the city center.