The year is 1989 the Berlin Wall was coming down‚ the Soviet Union was crumbling and the new freedoms of eastern Europe made it possible for Preston to twin with Kalisz. Kalisz is situated in Wielkopolska (the Greater Poland Voivodeship‚ west of the centre of Poland) and has many similarities with Preston or at least with the Preston of old. It is a textile and manufacturing town and is surrounded by agricultural land producing fruit and vegetables.

Ptolemy mentions a town called Calisia on the Amber trail to the Baltic Sea and there is a strong belief that Calisia and Kalisz are the same place. There are many artefacts of Roman times found in the area and the town is consequently considered to be the oldest town in Poland although some scholars dispute this. However artefacts found in the area can date settlements back 10‚000 years to the first period of the Stone Age.

Over the centuries Kalisz has developed and declined (or was destroyed) a number of times. In 1792 the town was struck by a fire which destroyed much of it‚ but the darkest days for Kalisz must be the two World Wars. Kalisz was one of the first places to be destroyed in the First World War. The population of 65‚000 of 1914 was reduced to 5‚000 the following year and much of the town had been burnt down. Remarkably the city centre had been re-built before the end of the Great War and many of the expelled inhabitants had returned. Sometimes lighting does struck twice and the town suffered greatly at the hands of the Nazis. Approximately 30‚000 Jews were murdered and another 20‚000 Catholics murdered or were enslaved. After World War 2 the town was reconstructed once again and to-day it is a thriving administrative capital in the Greater Poland Voivodeship and a centre of culture and education.

Kalisz is home to the Calisia piano factory as well as some other of the largest companies in Poland. The soft drinks Hellena‚ Jutrzenka and Kaliszanka are produced here and there is food processing in the Ziolopex and Winaary (Nestle) plants. The Big Star jeans brand is made here and the town has not one‚ but two‚ aircraft engine plants‚ one being WSK-Kalisz and the other being part of Pratt and Whitney - Canada.

Kalisz is a notable centre of education in the region. It is home to 30 pre schools‚ 29 primary schools and 15 high schools. There are also 7 colleges and a dozen or so trade schools. The city is also home to branches of the Poznan University‚ as well as several private institutions of higher education.

The culture of Kalisz is rich and diversified and despite the ravages of two world wars the town has many historical monuments. Two of the most popular tourist attractions are the St Nicholas and the Holy Virgin Mary churches but there are nearly 100 other small churches in the Kalisz district. There are also ruined and preserved defence towers dating back centuries. The Kalisz district is famous for its musical movement and is host to international and local festivals of ancient music‚ jazz‚ classical and rock music.

Stanislaw Wojciechowski who was President of Poland between 1922 and 1926 was born in Kalisz as was poet and dramatist Adam Asnyk who is remembered to-day through the towns’ college which is named after him.

Kalisz is roughly central to the triangle formed by Poznan‚ Warsaw and Lodz and lies on the (east/west) highway 12 and the (north/south) highway 25. The town is also served by a rail link.

Links:
www.kalisz.pl	The official Polish language site for Kalisz.

Contact in Poland:

bmp@um.kalisz.pl