The following small villages belong to the district of Nagold: Emmingen, Gündringen, Hochdorf, Iselshausen, Mindersbach, Pfrondorf, Schietingen and Vollmaringen.

With its fertile soil and mild climate in the low mountain ridge, the basin afforded ideal possibilities for settlement.

A Celtic royal burial mound (locally called Krautbühl) and signs of numerous settlements and graves have been found on and around Schlossberg.

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 the year 1230, Nagold came under the control of the Grafen von Hohenberg, who sped up development of the city.

By the end of the 13th century, Nagold was encircled with a 5.5-metre-high (18 ft) wall, complete with moat and gate towers.

The Hohennagold Castle, located on the Schlossberg, showcases a rich historical evolution, with its earliest signs of settlement dating back to the Bronze Age, around 1200 BC.

The precise chronology regarding the construction phases of the earliest sections of the medieval edifice remains ambiguous.

Established in the 11th century by the Counts of Tübingen, the medieval Hohennagold Castle was constructed atop the foundations of an earlier fortification.

Subsequent expansions were executed by the Counts of Hohenberg and Württemberg, notably including the development of the outer bailey in the 15th and early 16th centuries.

The structure suffered extensive damage during the Thirty Years' War, leading to a directive from the Duke of Württemberg for its dismantlement.

During this time, the town was embarking on a redevelopment of its outdated urban neighborhoods and commercial zones in the valleys of Nagold and Waldach.