Facts about Kalisz
Kalisz is a city in central Poland. As of 1995, the population of Kalisz was 109,800. Kalisz is situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Skalmierzyce. Kalisz is an important industrial and commercial centre of the area, with many notable factories located there. The city is also the seat of the Calisia piano factory and one of traditional centres of folk art. Kalisz is now considered to be the oldest town of Poland, because it was mentioned by Ptolemy as Calisia. That town was situated in the territory of the Diduni (Vandals) in Magna Germania on the Amber Trail. Although it is still not certain whether the exact spot where the city centre is located nowadays was inhabitated in 2nd century, there are many artifacts of the Roman times in the area, pointing to the fact that it must have been one of the stops of the Roman caravans heading for the Baltic Sea. In 1792 the town was struck by a fire that destroyed much of its centre. Modern Kalisz was most probably founded in 9th century as a castellany and a minor fort. The name Kalisz stems from the Celtic term cal which means stream, or Slavic term kal, meaning swamp or marsh. In 1106 Boleslaw Krzywousty captured the town and incorporated it into his feudal domain. Between 1253 and 1260 the town was granted German town law called Sroda Slaska Law after Sroda Slaska in Silesia, a local variation of the Magdeburg Law, and soon started to grow. One of the richest towns of Greater Poland, during the feudal fragmentation of Poland it formed a separate duchy ruled by local branch of the Piast dynasty. In 1282 the city laws were confirmed by Przemysl II of Poland In 1314 it was made the capital of the Kalisz Land, one of the Voivodeships of Poland, by king Wladyslaw Lokietek. In 1343 king Casimir III signed there a peace treaty with the Teutonic Order. As a royal town, the city managed to defend much of its initial privileges and in 1426 a new town hall was built. Also, it was there that king Mieszko the Old is buried. In 1574 the Jesuits were brought to Kalisz and in 1584 they opened a Jesuit College there, one of the most notable centres of education in Poland back then. However, with time the importance of Kalisz declined and its place was taken by nearby Poznan. In 1801 Wojciech Boguslawski built a theatre there, one of the first permanent theatres in the area. Poet Wlasyslaw Pilars de Pilar is from Kalisz. Bonawentura Niemojowski, who is a journalist, belong to Kalisz. Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski, a renouned painter is also from the city of Kalisz. Famous musician Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski also belong to Kalisz. Bishop Juliusz Bursche is also from Kalisz. Boleslaus the Pious, duke of Greater Poland is also from Kalisz. |
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