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.