Kalisz

Kalisz stands on the Prosna and ranks among the oldest towns of Poland. A Piast stronghold and later the seat of a duchy, it grew into a wealthy centre of trade and crafts in Greater Poland. In 1264 Bolesław the Pious issued the Statute of Kalisz, granting protections to Jews; the town became the capital of a voivodeship in 1314.

Casimir the Great concluded peace with the Teutonic Order here in 1343. The Jesuits arrived in 1574 and opened a college a decade later, while Protestant Czech Brethren settled in the district after their expulsion from Bohemia. The city suffered a major fire in 1792 and passed to Prussia in the following year's partition. In 1813 Russia and Prussia signed the Treaty of Kalisz, joining forces against Napoleon. Afterwards the town became part of Congress Poland.