Context: The initial conditions for the gravitational collapse of molecular cloud cores and the subsequent birth of stars are still not well constrained. The characteristic cold temperatures (about 10 K) in such regions require observations at sub-millimetre and longer wavelengths. The Herschel Space Observatory and complementary ground-based observations presented in this paper have the unprecedented potential to reveal the structure and kinematics of a prototypical core region at the onset of stellar birth. Aims: This paper aims to determine the density, temperature, and velocity structure of the star-forming Bok globule CB 17. This isolated region is known to host (at least) two sources at different evolutionary stages: a dense core, SMM1, and a Class I protostar, IRS. Methods: We modeled the cold dust emission maps from 100 micron to 1.2 mm with both a modified blackbody technique to determine the optical depth-weighted line-of-sight temperature and column density and a ray-tracing technique to determine the core temperature and volume density structure. Furthermore, we analysed the kinematics of CB17 using the high-density gas tracer N2H+. Results: From the ray-tracing analysis, we find a temperature in the centre of SMM1 of 10.6 K, a flat density profile with radius 9500 au, and a central volume density of n(H) = 2.3x10^5 cm-3. The velocity structure of the N2H+ observations reveal global rotation with a velocity gradient of 4.3 km/s/pc. Superposed on this rotation signature we find a more complex velocity field, which may be indicative of differential motions within the dense core. Conclusions: SMM is a core in an early evolutionary stage at the verge of being bound, but the question of whether it is a starless or a protostellar core remains unanswered.
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