Gerbersau Reading Summer 2025

The Gerbersau Reading Summer is celebrating its 21st edition! Since 2003, the Gerbersau Reading Summer, with its musically accompanied readings from the works of Hermann Hesse, has been a cultural highlight. This year, from July 2 to August 9, visitors can once again be inspired by a symbiosis of music and words. As always, the focus will be on Hermann Hesse's Gerbersau stories, which are based on Hesse's narratives and memories. The opening event will take place on July 4 at 7:30 PM in the Calw marketplace in front of Hermann Hesse's birthplace. During the "Gerbersau Reading Summer," stories by Hermann Hesse that relate to his birthplace and hometown of Calw and its surroundings will be read. In these stories, he often gave the town the poetic name "Gerbersau" - the meadow of the tanners - in memory of the tanners who used to practice their craft along the banks of the Nagold River. Hermann Hesse was born on July 2, 1877, in the half-timbered house located across from the town hall in Calw's marketplace and spent his first four years of life there. His parents and grandparents worked for the Basel Mission and were sent to Calw to lead the Christian "Calwer Verlagsverein," which published writings for the mission, among other things. When Hermann Hesse was four years old, his father was called to serve as a teacher at the Basel Mission headquarters, after which the family moved to Basel for five years. However, at the age of nine, he returned to Calw in 1886, as his father switched back to the publishing house. He then lived mostly in Calw for the next nine years. During this time, he got to know the town with all its nooks and alleys, as well as its people and their fates. From these experiences, he drew the material for his "Gerbersau stories."

INFO: The "Gerbersau Reading Summer" is organized for the Hesse town by Herbert Schnierle-Lutz (concept) and the cultural office of the city of Calw (organization). A flyer with the complete program for the "Gerbersau Reading Summer 2025" can be viewed at www.calw.de/Gerbersauer-Lesesommer and is available at the tourist information next to the Calw town hall (Tel. 07051-167-399). Tickets for 24 euros can also be purchased there and at www.reservix.de. Subscriptions for the event series are available exclusively at the tourist information.