Kalisz is a city situated in the Wielkopolska Province in the Prosna river valley. Its oldest traces of settlement come from the Mesolithic Era. A trade route called the Amber route, which connected the coast of the Adriatic Sea with the Baltic Sea had a significant influence on the development of the settlement. Claudius Ptolemy in his work Geography (around AD 150) mentioned Kalisia to mark one of the localities on the route. A lot of scholars identify the Kalisia of Ptolemy with today's Kalisz. Therefore the city takes pride in being the oldest documented Polish city.

         In the early Middle Ages in the area of Kalisz and its surroundings there was a fortified settlement important for the early Piast state. The settlement in Zawodzie (9/10–11th century) belonged to one of the biggest Piast settlements. In 1139 Kalisz became the capital of a duchy, and its first ruler was duke Mieszko III the Old (Polish: Mieszko III Stary). After 1233 the Duke of Silesia Henry the Bearded (Polish: Henryk Brodaty) moved a settlement from Zawodzie to a place called the New Town. About the year 1257 the town received municipal autonomy from Henry the Bearded. The autonomy was implemented according to the German town law called the Środa Śląska Law (after Środa Śląska in Silesia). Two Polish kings – Casimir the Great (Polish: Kazimierz Wielki) and Władysław II Jagiełło (Polish: Władysław Jagiełło) contributed greatly to the development of the medieval town.

         The favourable location at the crossroads of the European trade routes favoured the development of Kalisz and its openness to newcomers representing various peoples, nations, religions and cultures. Germans, Greeks, Macedonians, Russians and Ukrainians lived in the town over centuries. In the 13^th century there was a Jewish community, one of the oldest in Poland. In 1264 Duke Bolesław the Pious (Polish: Bolesław Pobożny) granted the Jews from his district the so-called Statute of Kalisz. It regulated a legal status of the Jews and was one of the most important acts of Polish liberalism in the history of Europe.

         The 15^th and 16^th centuries were the times of economic and cultural boom. But epidemics, fires, and wars stretching from the middle of the 17^th century until the end of the 18^th century led to a gradual decline of the importance of Kalisz.

         In the years 1793-1806, after the second partition of Poland, Kalisz belonged to Prussia. In 1807 it became the capital of the department of the Duchy of Warsaw. After the defeat of Napoleon and the fall of the Duchy of Warsaw, Kalisz came under the Russian rule, which lasted until 1914. In the Kingdom of Poland, established in 1815, the town was initially the seat of the Province, and between 1837-1844 and 1867-1914 the capital of the Kalisz Governorate.  

         The government of the Kingdom of Poland focused on the development of industry, and thanks to the protectionist policy, entrepreneurs who settled within its borders received beneficial discounts and loans. Kalisz, located on the Prosna river, near the Prussian border, quickly became an industrial centre. Polish industrialists and various professionals, as well as labourers, came here from Prussia, Saxony, Brandenburg and Silesia. Textile, embroidery, lace making, piano and grand piano construction factories were established. At the beginning of the 19^th century Kalisz was one of the richest cities of the Kingdom.      

         The fall of national uprisings of both November (1830-1831) and January (1863-1864) stopped this successful economic and social development.

         The changes taking place since the 1870s, including the capitalization of the economy and the alleviation of the repression of the invaders against the Poles, influenced the town's intense development. Kalisz industry and trade were in full bloom, the urban infrastructure was expanded. In 1902 Kalisz received the first railway connection with Warsaw, which further favoured the business climate. Economic development was followed by social and cultural life. The town had 65,000 inhabitants. The period of prosperity ended with the outbreak of World War I.        

         In August 1914 the unarmed Kalisz was destroyed and burned down by the Prussian army. 95% of the buildings in the historical centre both residential and public utility buildings were destroyed and left in ruins, and the population dropped to only 5,000.

         In 1917 about 4,000 legionnaires from the I Brigade of Józef Piłsudski were imprisoned in the camp at Szczypiorno – on the outskirts of Kalisz. In order to kill time they played a game called "szczypiorniak", which is a Polish handball, and is where the 100-year history of Polish handball began.   

         Regaining independence in 1918 was the beginning of the arduous reconstruction of the town. The town centre preserved its 13th-century urban layout. The town continued its developed as an industrial, commercial and cultural centre, and the number of inhabitants grew (in 1939 there were over 81,000).

         The tragic events of World War II brought to the inhabitants of Kalisz a great deal of suffering and irretrievable losses. Kalisz, like the whole Wielkopolska Province, was incorporated into the Reich under the so-called "Warta Land" (Wartheland). Persecution, deportations, roundups, and executions during the war contributed to the population's suffering. The Jewish community, constituting about 1/3 of the total population, was exterminated. Although the buildings survived, the town's culture suffered great losses. The Nazis threw books from Polish and Jewish libraries, along with rubble, into the Babinka channel – the arm of the Prosna river – which was being filled in at that time. This action has become a symbol of the immensity of barbarism of the German occupiers. This fact is commemorated by the only monument in Poland symbolic of a book.

         In the post-war period Kalisz developed multilaterally as an industrial, commercial, cultural and educational centre. 

         In the years 1975-1998 Kalisz was the seat of the Province, but from January 1, 1999 it has had the status of a city with district rights in the Wielkopolska Province. Currently, it is the second city in Wielkopolska after Poznań, with a significant economic, social and cultural potential. It is also a growing academic and artistic centre.    

         Kalisz is a historical city, drawing from the multicultural tradition and open to new opportunities and challenges. It is worth visiting and getting to know personally.