Archaeological finds show that the area that is today Kandern was already inhabited in prehistoric times, by the Celts, and during the Roman period.
 It was probably the local clay deposits that made the site attractive to the early settlers.
 The name Kandern is of Germanic origin, meaning on the Kander.
Kander is the name of the stream that flows through the town.
 Its name comes from the Celtic kandera for clear flowing.

Kandern is first mentioned in a document from the Abbey of St. Martin in Tours, France.
 The document states that one Gundoson bought iron in loco municipalitum Chantra super fluvium Hantra ("in the area of the town of Kandern on the river Kander").
 The next record of Kandern was in 776 A.D. when Lorsch Abbey obtained the title to some land near Kandern.
The annals of the abbey from the same period mention deliveries of iron from Kandern, showing that by the 8th century it was already a recognized location.
Throughout the Middle Ages, iron working provided Kandern with a certain amount of prosperity and freedom.

The town of Kandern originally grew out of three localities:
Kandern, in the area of the present-day Lutheran church,
Minder-Kandern, near the present-day swimming pool, and
a settlement on the flat valley bottom near the paper mill
Several monasteries owned land in the area, and therefore exercised an influence on Kandern's early history.
 The most important of these was the Abbey of St. Gallen in modern Switzerland.
 St. Gallen was a powerful Imperial abbey, and acquired considerable territory around Kandern in the early Middle Ages.
As a result of defeat in the Investiture Controversy, St. Gallen had to transfer its interests in the area to other monasteries, including St. Alban's in Basel.

Kandern was the main town of the domains of Sausenburg, which became part of the possessions of the Margrave of Baden in 1503.

In 1810, Kandern was granted the right to become a city, the Stadtrecht, which included among other rights the right to be called a city, and to hold a weekly market.
 Kandern lost the Stadtrecht due to municipal restructuring during the Third Reich.

In 1848, during the Badische Revolution, a battle between revolutionaries under Friedrich Hecker and Hessian troops under Friedrich von Gagern occurred on the Scheidegg near Kandern.
 Gagern was killed in the encounter, but the revolutionaries were defeated and scattered.

Until 1972 Kandern was part of Landkreis (rural district) Müllheim.
 On the dissolution of Landkreis Müllheim, Kandern became part of Landkreis Lörrach.

In 1974, the surrounding villages of Feuerbach, Holzen, Riedlingen, Sitzenkirch, Tannenkirch, and Wollbach joined the town of Kandern, which then had the necessary population to reclaim the Stadtrecht.
 Kandern and the neighboring villages are now collectively referred to as the City of Kandern.
Archaeological finds show that the area that is today Kandern was already inhabited in prehistoric times, by the Celts, and during the Roman period.  It was probably the local clay deposits that made the site attractive to the early settlers.  The name Kandern is of Germanic origin, meaning on the Kander. Kander is the name of the stream that flows through the town.  Its name comes from the Celtic kandera for clear flowing.
Kandern is first mentioned in a document from the Abbey of St. Martin in Tours, France.  The document states that one Gundoson bought iron in loco municipalitum Chantra super fluvium Hantra ("in the area of the town of Kandern on the river Kander").  The next record of Kandern was in 776 A.D. when Lorsch Abbey obtained the title to some land near Kandern. The annals of the abbey from the same period mention deliveries of iron from Kandern, showing that by the 8th century it was already a recognized location. Throughout the Middle Ages, iron working provided Kandern with a certain amount of prosperity and freedom.
The town of Kandern originally grew out of three localities:
Kandern, in the area of the present-day Lutheran church,
Minder-Kandern, near the present-day swimming pool, and
a settlement on the flat valley bottom near the paper mill
Several monasteries owned land in the area, and therefore exercised an influence on Kandern's early history.  The most important of these was the Abbey of St. Gallen in modern Switzerland.  St. Gallen was a powerful Imperial abbey, and acquired considerable territory around Kandern in the early Middle Ages. As a result of defeat in the Investiture Controversy, St. Gallen had to transfer its interests in the area to other monasteries, including St. Alban's in Basel.
Kandern was the main town of the domains of Sausenburg, which became part of the possessions of the Margrave of Baden in 1503.
In 1810, Kandern was granted the right to become a city, the Stadtrecht, which included among other rights the right to be called a city, and to hold a weekly market.  Kandern lost the Stadtrecht due to municipal restructuring during the Third Reich.
In 1848, during the Badische Revolution, a battle between revolutionaries under Friedrich Hecker and Hessian troops under Friedrich von Gagern occurred on the Scheidegg near Kandern.  Gagern was killed in the encounter, but the revolutionaries were defeated and scattered.
Until 1972 Kandern was part of Landkreis (rural district) Müllheim.  On the dissolution of Landkreis Müllheim, Kandern became part of Landkreis Lörrach.
In 1974, the surrounding villages of Feuerbach, Holzen, Riedlingen, Sitzenkirch, Tannenkirch, and Wollbach joined the town of Kandern, which then had the necessary population to reclaim the Stadtrecht.  Kandern and the neighboring villages are now collectively referred to as the City of Kandern.
Kandern