Historical studies show that people from early Paleolithic age inhabited Dharwad district.

The district was ruled by various dynasties from the 5th century onwards, Important among them are Badami and Kalyan Chalukyas, Rastrakutas, Vijayanagar, Adilshahi, Mysore kingdom and Peshawas of Pune.

In 1962 the erstwhile towns of Dharwad and Hubli were amalgamated to constitute the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation.

There is a good transportation between Hubli, Dharwad, Kalghatgi, Navalgund and Kundgol as NWKRTC and Bendre Nagara Sarige (a consortium of private bus-owners) compete to cater to the large number of commuters between these places daily.

There are many private bus operators who render travel services between Hubli and Bangalore, Mangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Goa and Hyderabad.

Hubli being an important railway junction has daily trains to Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Miraj, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Vijayawada, Mysore and weekly services to Chennai, Howrah and Thiruvananthapuram.

According to the 2011 census Dharwad district has a population of 1,847,023,[9] roughly equal to the nation of Kosovo[10] or the US state of West Virginia.

Jnanpith Award winners D. R. Bendre, V. K. Gokak and Girish Karnad trace their origins to Dharwad.

Nandan Nilekani, the Co-Chairman of Infosys moved in with his uncle's family in Dharwad for his education and was a student of St Joseph's High School.

Sucheta Dalal, the Mumbai-based financial journalist, who exposed the Harshad Mehta scandal studied in Dharwad.

Its exponents are called Lingadevaru and they perform the dance with religious fervour at festival time especially during the months of Shravana and Kartika.

The sight of the devotee's inspired dance, to the background beat and the resulting symphony of sounds, from the pots and plates on the pole, is truly breathtaking.

Halige meaning two percussion instruments used by two artists to produce rhythmic notes of astounding energy and power.

Their movements along the stage expressive of their physical energy harmonizes with the notes produced by the instrument.

The dance form depicts the story of Veerabhadra, the legendary minor god created by Lord Siva to teach a lesson to his father-in-law Daksha.

Places of interest in Dharwad district comprise many tourist attractions including temples and historical monuments.