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Blogs from Calw, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Europe
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June 5th 2011
Cologne. We arrived at Cologne at the main train station, in downtown. The train ride in was absolutely beautiful. Most of it was right along the banks of the Rhine River, there were castles across the river built into the steep hillside, and where there weren’t castles, there were vineyards going straight up the hill. When we got off the train and out of the station, I walked out of the door and looked straight up to see the most magnificent man made structure I have ever seen in my entire life. The Cologne Dome was built over 500 years ago, and it is more breath taking than any modern building that I’ve ever seen. It towers up above any building in downtown Cologne. Originally, it was an all white building, but pollution has turned it ... read more
June 15th 2005
The town of Calw, located in the Nagold Valley in the Northern Black Forest area was for the first time mentioned in a document in 1075. The name 'Calw' is derived from the word 'chalo' which roughly means the 'bare spot'. During the Middle Ages the citizens of Calw made their living trading with leather, sheep-breeding, textile manufacturing (weaving, dyeing and cloth-making) and tanning. In 1634 the then Protestant town was completely destroyed by Imperial troops under Jan van Werth. It was quickly rebuilt - and guess what? - it was completely destroyed again in 1692 during the War of the Successsion in the Palatinate (also called the Nine Years War). Calw was largely unharmed by the destructive effects of WW II. Thus walking around the historic town center one can still appreciate many half-timbered buildings. ... read more
