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82-616: It stretches out between Greater Poland , Kuyavia and Paluki regions. The trail leads from Poznan by Pobiedziska , Moraczewo, Ostrow Lednicki, Gniezno , Trzemeszno , Mogilno , Strzelno , Kruszwica , Inowroclaw , Wloclawek and north–south route: Wągrowiec , Lekno, Żnin , Biskupin , Gniezno, Grzybowo Giecz Konin , Kalisz . This Poland -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Greater Poland Greater Poland , often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska ( pronounced [vjɛlkɔˈpɔlska] ; Latin : Polonia Maior ),

164-710: A fire destroyed much of the city centre. At various times, the 1st and 7th Infantry Regiments of the Polish Crown Army were stationed in Kalisz. In 1793, in the Second Partition of Poland , the Kingdom of Prussia absorbed the city, called Kalisch in German. That year Jews were 40% of the population. In 1801, Wojciech Bogusławski set up one of the first permanent theatre troupes in Kalisz. In 1806,

246-527: A high mortality rate. On the order of Heinrich Himmler , most of the camps were dissolved in 1943, and its surviving prisoners were sent to ghettos and death camps. Germany operated several prisoner-of-war camps , including Stalag XXI-B, Stalag XXI-C , Stalag XXI-D , Stalag XXI-E, Stalag 302, Oflag II-C , Oflag XXI-A, Oflag XXI-B , Oflag XXI-C and Oflag 64 , for Polish, French , British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealander, Belgian, Dutch, Serbian, American, Italian , South African and other Allied POWs in

328-736: A larger area than the Greater Poland region itself, also taking in Masovia and Royal Prussia . (This division of Crown Poland into two entities called Greater and Lesser Poland had its roots in the Statutes of Casimir the Great of 1346–1362, where the laws of "Greater Poland" – the northern part of the country – were codified in the Piotrków statute, with those of "Lesser Poland" in the separate Wiślica statute.) In 1655, Greater Poland

410-544: A provincial capital and notable royal city . It is one of the historical burial sites of medieval Polish monarchs and dukes of the Piast dynasty and the site of a number of significant events in Polish history as well as several battles. Since the 19th century it has been the center of an industrial district. It is the cultural, scientific, educational and administrative center of the eastern and southern Greater Poland region, and

492-653: Is a Polish historical region of west-central Poland . Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz , the oldest city in Poland. The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history. Since the Late Middle Ages , Wielkopolska proper has been split into the Poznań and Kalisz voivodeships . In the wider sense, it also encompassed Sieradz , Łęczyca , Brześć Kujawski and Inowrocław voivodeships, which were situated further east, and

574-727: Is a home to the Henryk Melcer Music School. Although there is little heavy industry within the city limits, Kalisz is home to several large enterprises. It has the Winiary (part of the Nestlé group) and Colian food processing plants and the Big Star jeans factory. Two plane engine production factories, WSK-Kalisz and Pratt & Whitney Kalisz (a branch of Pratt & Whitney Canada ), are located in Kalisz. The Andruty kaliskie wafers originated in Kalisz, and are

656-527: Is produced in various places, especially in the Noteć and Warta river valleys in the north and west. Notable centers of honey production include Pszczew , Wałcz , Tuczno , Lubiszyn and Stare Drawsko in northern and western Greater Poland and Kopaszewo and Witosław in southern Greater Poland. The Saint Michael's Honey Fair is held annually in Gorzów Wielkopolski . Grodzisk Wielkopolski

738-427: Is the most accomplished speedway team in Poland, and other accomplished teams in the region are Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski and Polonia Piła . Main handball clubs are MKS Kalisz , KPR Ostrovia Ostrów Wielkopolski , Nielba Wągrowiec , Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski , Grunwald Poznań and KPR Wolsztyniak Wolsztyn . Field hockey enjoys less popularity, however, the region is dominant in the sport in Poland, with 80 of

820-641: Is the place of origin of the Grodziskie beer style. Other traditional Polish beers , officially protected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, are produced in Bojanowo , Czarnków , Miłosław , Nakło nad Notecią and Wschowa . Football and speedway enjoy the largest following in Greater Poland. The most accomplished football teams are Lech Poznań and Warta Poznań . 18-times Team Polish Champions (as of 2023), Unia Leszno ,

902-786: The Drzymała's wagon became a regional folk hero . In the Russian Partition, Russification policies were enacted, and Polish resistance was also active. The largest uprisings in Russian-controlled eastern Greater Poland were the November Uprising of 1830–31 and January Uprising of 1863–64. During World War I , Germany also occupied eastern Greater Poland, and in August 1914, the German Army carried out

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984-512: The Gestapo carried out arrests of Polish activists, teachers and entrepreneurs, closed various Polish organizations and enterprises and seized their funds. The Poles tried to resist German persecution, but some were forced to escape German arrest and thus fled to Poland. In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland starting World War II . During the attack the German army, Einsatzgruppen and Selbstschutz perpetrated various crimes against

1066-583: The Kalisz Region . Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of Greater Poland , the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce . Kalisz is one of the oldest cities in Poland and one of the two traditional capitals of Greater Poland (alongside Poznań ). It has served as an important regional center in Poland since the Middle Ages as

1148-580: The Polish–Teutonic War of 1431–1435 . In the reunited kingdom, and later in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , the country came to be divided into administrative units called voivodeships . In the case of the Greater Poland region these were Poznań Voivodeship and Kalisz Voivodeship . The Commonwealth also had larger subdivisions known as prowincja , one of which was named Greater Poland . However, this prowincja covered

1230-489: The Rogalin Landscape Park is famous for about 2000 monumental oak trees growing on the flood plain of the river Warta , among numerous ox-bow lakes . Greater Poland formed the heart of the 10th-century early Polish state , sometimes being called the "cradle of Poland". Poznań and Gniezno were early centres of royal power and the seats of Poland's first Catholic diocese, est. in Poznań in 968, and

1312-462: The Santok Land , located to the northwest. The region in the proper sense roughly coincides with the present-day Greater Poland Voivodeship ( Polish : województwo wielkopolskie ). Like all the historical regions of Poland, i.e Pomerania , Warmia , Silesia , Mazovia or Lesser Poland and others, the Greater Poland region possesses its own folk costumes, architecture, cuisine, that make

1394-740: The destruction of Kalisz . Germany planned the annexation of eastern Greater Poland as part of the so-called " Polish Border Strip " and expulsion of its Polish inhabitants to make room for German colonization in accordance with the Lebensraum policy. Following the end of World War I , the Greater Poland uprising (1918–19) ensured that most of the region became part of the newly independent Polish state, forming most of Poznań Voivodeship (1921–1939) . Northern and some western parts of Greater Poland remained in Germany, where they formed much of

1476-656: The expulsion of Poles , now also in pre-war Polish territory, with the Special Staff for the Resettlement of Poles and Jews ( Sonderstab für die Aussiedlung von Polen und Juden ) established in Poznań in November 1939, soon renamed to Office for the Resettlement of Poles and Jews ( Amt für Umsiedlung der Polen und Juden ), and eventually to Central Bureau for Resettlement (UWZ, Umwandererzentralstelle ). The place of

1558-572: The feudal fragmentation of Poland it formed a separate duchy ruled by a local branch of the Piast dynasty . In 1264, the Statute of Kalisz was issued in the city by Bolesław the Pious . It was a unique protective privilege for Jews during their persecution in Western Europe, which in the following centuries made Poland the destination of Jewish migration from other countries. After Poland

1640-536: The 0 °C (32 °F) isotherm. There are 19 Catholic churches , five Protestant churches , and one Eastern Orthodox church in Kalisz. The city contains the Cathedral of St. Nicholas . Synagogues were built in Kalisz beginning in 1698, and a New Synagogue was built in 1879. Before World War II there were 25,000 Jews in Kalisz, but most of them were murdered by Germans in the Holocaust in Poland and by

1722-456: The 14th century, Jews of the town were attacked during epidemics by mobs which accused them of poisoning the wells of the town. In 1574 the Jesuits came to Kalisz and in 1584 opened a Jesuit College, which became a centre of education in Poland; around this time, however, the importance of Kalisz began to decline somewhat, its place being taken by nearby Poznań . The economic development of

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1804-519: The 1980 strikes in various cities and towns, which led to the foundation of the Solidarity organization, which played a central role in the end of communist rule in Poland. With the reforms of 1975 it was divided into seven provinces, partially or wholly located in Greater Poland (the voivodeships of Bydgoszcz , Gorzów , Kalisz , Konin , Leszno , Piła and Poznań ). The present-day Greater Poland Voivodeship , again with Poznań as its capital,

1886-497: The 86 men's Polish Championships won by local teams (as of October 2023). The following table lists the cities in proper Greater Poland with a population greater than 25,000 (2015): Kalisz Kalisz ( Polish: [ˈkaliʂ] ) is a city in central Poland , and the second-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship , with 97,905 residents (December 2021). It is the capital city of

1968-424: The 8th Polish Infantry Regiment was formed in Kalisz and the 6th Polish Infantry Regiment was formed in the present-day district of Dobrzec. After the successful Greater Poland uprising of 1806 , it was regained by Poles and became a provincial capital within the short-lived Duchy of Warsaw . During Napoleon's invasion of Russia , following Yorck 's Convention of Tauroggen of 1812, von Stein's Treaty of Kalisz

2050-592: The Catholic Church. In 1997 Kalisz was visited by Pope John Paul II . The city was the site of the former 'Calisia' piano factory, until it went out of business in 2007. The factory building was transformed into the Calisia One Hotel, which opened in 2019. Kalisz has an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfb ) using the −3 °C (27 °F) isotherm or a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfb ) using

2132-479: The First Border Battalion, composed of volunteers from Kalisz and Ostrów Wielkopolski , was sworn in Kalisz, before joining the ongoing Greater Poland uprising (1918–19) against Germany. The reconstruction continued and in 1925 a new city hall was opened. In the 1931 Polish census, Kalisz had a population of 15,300 Jews, nearly 30% of the city's total population. In 1939 the population of Kalisz

2214-477: The German army, rescued Polish children kidnapped by the Germans, and facilitated escapes of Allied prisoners of war from German POW camps. The Germans cracked down on the resistance several times, and even kidnapped children of the resistance members and sent them to a camp for Polish children in Łódź , nicknamed "little Auschwitz " due to its conditions, where many died. From August 1944 to January 1945,

2296-605: The German police and Einsatzgruppe VI carried out mass public executions of some 300 Poles in various towns in the region, i.e. Gostyń , Kostrzyn , Kościan , Kórnik , Krobia , Książ Wielkopolski , Leszno , Mosina , Osieczna , Poniec , Śmigiel , Śrem , Środa and Włoszakowice , to terrorize and pacify the Poles. The Polish and Jewish population was classified by Nazis as subhuman and subjected to organized genocide, involving mass murder and ethnic cleansing, with many former officials and others considered potential enemies by

2378-434: The Germans established a Germanisation camp for Polish children taken away from their parents ( Gaukinderheim ). The children were given new German names and surnames, and were punished for any use of the Polish language, even with death ( e.g. , a 14-year-old boy Zygmunt Światłowski  [ pl ] was murdered). After their stay in the camp, the children were deported to Germany; only some returned to Poland after

2460-441: The Germans used hundreds of thousands of Poles as forced labour to build fortifications in the region ahead of the advancing Eastern Front . In January 1945, before and during their retreat, the Germans committed several further massacres of Polish civilians, prisoners and Polish and other Allied POWs, including at Pleszew , Marchwacz , Żabikowo, Łomnica and Kuźnica Żelichowska and perpetrated several death marches . Poznań

2542-779: The Museum of Polish State Origins in Gniezno, and the National Museum and Wielkopolska Museum of Independence in Poznań. Several castles and palaces house museums, such as those in Dobrzyca, Gołuchów , Jarocin , Kołaczkowo , Koźmin Wielkopolski , Kórnik, Poznań , Rogalin and Śmiełów . Poland's largest church, the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń , is located in the region. The oldest preserved European signpost beyond

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2624-638: The Nazis being imprisoned or executed, including at the notorious Fort VII concentration camp in Poznań. Major sites of massacres of Poles in the region included Dopiewiec , Dębienko , Winiary , Mędzisko , Paterek , Łobżenica , Górka Klasztorna , Kobylniki and Bukowiec . During Aktion T4 , the SS-Sonderkommandos gassed over 2,700 mentally ill people from the psychiatric hospitals in Owińska , Dziekanka and Kościan . The Germans continued

2706-715: The Older Poland to contrast with Lesser Poland (Polish Małopolska , Latin Polonia Minor ), a region in south-eastern Poland with its capital at Kraków that later became the main centre of the state. Greater Poland comprises much of the area drained by the Warta River and its tributaries, including the Noteć River . The region is distinguished from Lesser Poland with the lowland landscape, and from both Lesser Poland and Mazovia with its numerous lakes. In

2788-473: The Pious issued the Statute of Kalisz in the region. It was a unique protective privilege for Jews during their persecution in Western Europe , which in the following centuries made Poland the destination of Jewish migration from other countries. From the late 13th century, the region experienced first German invasions and occupations. In the late 13th century, the northwestern part of Greater Poland

2870-420: The Poles was taken by German colonists in accordance with the Lebensraum policy. Many Poles were also enslaved as forced labour and either sent to forced labour camps or German colonists in the region or deported to Germany and other German-occupied countries. Over 270,000 Polish children aged 10–18 were subjected to forced labour in Greater Poland, which, in addition to German profits of 500 million marks ,

2952-647: The Polish people in the occupied areas, whereas the persecution of Poles of northern and western Greater Poland reached its climax with mass arrests of Polish activists, who were detained in temporary camps in Piła and Lipka , and then deported to concentration camps , expulsions and closure of Polish schools and enterprises. The invading troops committed multiple massacres of Polish civilians and prisoners of war , including at Kłecko , Zdziechowa , Mogilno , Trzemeszno , Niewolno , Winiary , Wągrowiec , Mielno , Jankowo Dolne , Podlesie Kościelne and Obora . Afterwards,

3034-702: The Prussian Partition, western Greater Poland became the Grand Duchy of Posen (Poznań), which theoretically held some autonomy. Following an unrealized uprising in 1846 , and the more substantial but still unsuccessful uprising of 1848 (during the Spring of Nations ), the Grand Duchy was replaced by the Province of Posen . The authorities made efforts to Germanize the region, particularly after

3116-519: The Russians near the city. In 1881, Russian authorities expelled Jewish residents who lacked Russian citizenship. In 1897, the Jewish population of the town was 7,580, about one-third of the total population. In 1902, a new railway linked Kalisz to Warsaw and Łódź . Since the 19th century, Kalisz has been one of the leading Polish centers of piano manufacturing. In the early 20th century, it became

3198-578: The Winiary forest. In November 1939, the Einsatzgruppe VI Nazi paramilitary killing squad murdered 41 Poles at the local Jewish cemetery; among the victims was pre-war Polish mayor of Kalisz, Ignacy Bujnicki. In April and May 1940, many Poles arrested in the region, especially teachers, were imprisoned in the local prison, and afterwards deported to the Mauthausen and Dachau concentration camps, where they were murdered. In Kalisz,

3280-468: The area was aided by a large number of Protestant Czech Brothers , who settled in and around Kalisz after being expelled from Bohemia in 1620. In the 18th century, one of two main routes connecting Warsaw and Dresden ran through the city, and Kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland often traveled that route. In 1789, 881 Jews lived in Kalisz, 29% of the city’s population. In 1792,

3362-562: The boundaries of the former Roman Empire is located in Konin . In addition to traditional nationwide Polish cuisine , Greater Poland is known for its variety of regional and local traditional foods and drinks, which include especially various meat products (incl. various types of kiełbasa ), cheeses , honeys , beverages and various dishes and meals, officially protected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland . Among

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3444-493: The capital of a province – Kalisz Voivodeship ; the province was abolished in 1998, however, and since then Kalisz has been the county seat of a separate powiat within the Greater Poland Voivodeship . In 1976, the city limits were greatly expanded by the incorporation of the surrounding settlements of Majków, Nosków, Piwonice and Szczypiorno as new districts. The Polish anti-communist resistance Movement for Defence of Human and Civic Rights issued independent underground press in

3526-522: The city and in the nearby settlement of Winiary (today, a district of Kalisz). Over 1,000 people were arrested as hostages. Numerous Poles were arrested and murdered during the Intelligenzaktion aimed at annihilation of the Polish intelligentsia . Around 750 Poles from Kalisz, Ostrów Wielkopolski , and other nearby settlements were imprisoned in the Kalisz prison from September 1939 to March 1940, and most were murdered in large massacres in

3608-459: The city was set on fire and the remaining inhabitants were expelled. Out of roughly 68,000 citizens in 1914, only 5,000 remained in Kalisz a year later. By the end of the Great War, however, much of the city centre had been more or less rebuilt and many of the former inhabitants had been allowed to return. After the war Kalisz became part of the newly independent Poland . On December 13, 1918,

3690-601: The city was successfully defended by the Poles during a siege  [ pl ] by the Teutonic Knights . Because of its strategic location, King Casimir III the Great signed a peace treaty with the Teutonic Order there in 1343. As a royal city , Kalisz managed to defend many of its initial privileges, and in 1426 a new town hall was built. The Polish Duke Mieszko III the Old was buried in Kalisz. In

3772-420: The city. In August 1980, employees of local factories joined the nationwide anti-communist strikes, which led to the foundation of the Solidarity organization, which played a central role in the end of communist rule in Poland. In 1991 the city festival was inaugurated on 11 June to commemorate the confirmation of the incorporation of the city in 1282. In 1992, Kalisz became the seat of a separate diocese of

3854-535: The country's establishment in the 10th century. In 1106, Bolesław III Wrymouth captured the town, and made it a part of his feudal domain. Between 1253 and 1260 the town was incorporated according to the German town law called the Środa Śląska Law  [ pl ] (after Środa Śląska ), a local variation of the Magdeburg Law , and soon began to grow. One of the richest towns of Greater Poland , during

3936-589: The first archdiocese, est. in Gniezno in 1000, but following devastation of the region by pagan rebellion in the 1030s, and the invasion of Bretislaus I of Bohemia in 1038, the capital was moved by Casimir I the Restorer from Gniezno to Kraków . In the Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth , which initiated the period of fragmentation of Poland (1138–1320), the western part of Greater Poland (including Poznań)

4018-591: The founding of Germany in 1871, and from 1886 onwards the Prussian Settlement Commission was active in increasing German land ownership in formerly Polish areas. The Germans imposed Germanisation and Kulturkampf policies, and the Poles organized resistance . In the early 20th century, the Września children strike against Germanisation started, which quickly spread to other places in Greater Poland and beyond, whereas Michał Drzymała with

4100-504: The leading and fastest developing regions of Poland, with municipal rights modeled after Poznań and Kalisz becoming the basis of municipal form of government for several towns in the region, as two of five local Polish variants of medieval town rights. The region came under the control of Władysław I the Elbow-high in 1314, and thus became part of the reunited Poland of which Władyslaw was crowned king in 1320. In 1264, Duke Bolesław

4182-547: The leading center, surpassing Warsaw. With the outbreak of World War I , the proximity of the border proved disastrous for Kalisz; it was one of the first cities destroyed in 1914. Between 2 and 22 August, Kalisz was shelled and then burned to the ground by German forces under Major Hermann Preusker, even though Russian troops had retreated from the city without defending it and German troops – many of them ethnic Poles – had initially been welcomed peaceably. Eight hundred men were arrested and then several of them slaughtered, while

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4264-492: The most known local snacks are the St. Martin's croissant from Poznań and Kalisz andruts . Notable centers of traditional meat production include Grodzisk Wielkopolski , Krotoszyn , Kruszewnia , Nowy Tomyśl , Rawicz , Trzcianka and Złotniki , whereas centers of traditional cheese and quark production include Wągrowiec , Gniezno , Oborniki , Witkowo , Witoldzin and Września . A plethora of traditional Polish honey

4346-629: The most well-known traditional food from the city in Poland. Another officially protected traditional specialty of the area (as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland ) are homemade cold pressed juices from fresh fruits of the Kalisz Region, produced according to traditional recipes without any additional ingredients. These include juices from apples , pears , cherries , blackcurrant , redcurrant , strawberries and raspberries . The tradition dates back several centuries. The district of Szczypiorno , as

4428-459: The north, Ostrów Wielkopolski to the south-east, Gniezno (the earliest capital of Poland) to the north-east, and Leszno to the south-west. An area of 75.84 square kilometres (29.28 sq mi) of forest and lakeland south of Poznań is designated the Wielkopolska National Park ( Wielkopolski Park Narodowy ), established in 1957. The region also contains part of Drawa National Park , and several designated Landscape Parks . For example,

4510-456: The northwestern and northern outskirts remained part of Prussia. However, following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Greater Poland was again partitioned, with the western part (including Poznań) going to Prussia. The eastern part (including Kalisz) joined the Russian-controlled Kingdom of Poland , where it formed the Kalisz Voivodeship until 1837, then the Kalisz Governorate (merged into the Warsaw Governorate between 1844 and 1867). Within

4592-486: The occupiers launched the Intelligenzaktion genocidal campaign against the Polish population, and annexed the entire region into Nazi Germany . Administratively, most of Greater Poland was included within the Reichsgau Posen , later renamed Reichsgau Wartheland ( Warthe being the German name for the Warta river), whereas northern and western parts were located in the provinces of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia , Pomerania and Brandenburg . On 20–23 October 1939,

4674-416: The place of pioneering games of handball in Poland , is the namesake for szczypiorniak , the Polish name of the sport. Other popular sports in Kalisz include football and volleyball . Notable sports teams include: Kalisz is also the location of Kaliskie Towarzystwo Wioślarskie  [ pl ] , one of the oldest Polish rowing clubs, founded in 1894. Kalisz railway station was built in 1902 as

4756-627: The province of Posen-West Prussia (1922–1938), whose capital was Schneidemühl ( Piła ). To maintain contact with the Poles of German-controlled northern and western Greater Poland, Poland opened a consulate in Piła in 1922. From 1933, the Polish Głos Pogranicza i Kaszub newspaper was issued in Złotów . Under the Nazi government , repressions of Poles intensified. In January 1939, Germany resumed expulsions of Poles and many were also forced to flee. The Sturmabteilung , Schutzstaffel , Hitler Youth and Bund Deutscher Osten launched attacks on Polish institutions, schools and activists. In mid-1939

4838-433: The province of South Prussia . It remained so in spite of the first Greater Poland uprising (1794) , part of the unsuccessful Kościuszko Uprising directed chiefly against Russia . More successful was the Greater Poland Uprising of 1806 , which led to the bulk of Greater Poland becoming part of the Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw (forming the Poznań Department and parts of the Kalisz and Bydgoszcz Departments), whereas

4920-399: The region touristically and culturally interesting. Due to the fact that Greater Poland was the settlement area of the Polans and the core of the early Polish state , the region was at times simply called "Poland" (Latin Polonia ). The more specific name is first recorded in the Latin form Polonia Maior in 1257 and in Polish w Wielkej Polszcze in 1449. Its original meaning was

5002-431: The region. There were also multiple forced labour subcamps of the Stalag II-B , Stalag II-D and Stalag XX-A POW camps in the region, a subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp in Owińska, a subcamp of the Stutthof concentration camp in Obrzycko , a subcamp of the Ravensbrück concentration camp in Kalisz Pomorski , and a camp for Sinti and Romani people in Piła. A particularly notorious prison camp

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5084-528: The remainder of Brandenburg-annexed northwestern Greater Poland, which in 1373 became part of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown , ruled by the House of Luxembourg . In 1402, Poland and the Luxembourgs reached an agreement, according to which Poland was to buy and re-incorporate the afforementioned territory, but eventually the Luxembourgs sold it to the Teutonic Order. Allied Poles and Czech Hussites captured several towns of Teutonic-held northwestern Greater Poland, including Dobiegniew and Strzelce Krajeńskie , during

5166-432: The seat of Roman Catholic Diocese of Kalisz . There are many artefacts from Roman times in the area of Kalisz, indicating that the settlement had once been a stop of the Roman caravans heading for the Baltic Sea along the trade route of the Amber Trail . Calisia had been mentioned by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD, although the connection is doubted by some historians who claim that the location mentioned by Ptolemy

5248-411: The strict meaning, it covers an area of about 33,000 square kilometres (13,000 sq mi), and has a population of 3.5 million. In the wider sense, it has almost 60,000 square kilometres (23,000 sq mi), and 7 million inhabitants. The region's main metropolis is Poznań , near the centre of the region, on the Warta. Other cities are Kalisz to the south-east, Konin to the east, Piła to

5330-466: The summer of 1942 the Jewish community in Kalisz was entirely destroyed. Kalisz is a centre of education in the region. It is home to 29 primary schools, 15 junior high schools, and five high schools . Seven colleges and a dozen or so vocational schools are also located there. The city is also home to branches of Poznań University , Poznań University of Economics , and Poznań University of Technology , as well as other institutions of higher education. It

5412-458: The town in 1835. The proximity to the Prussian border accelerated economic development of the city and Kalisz ("Калиш" in Russian Cyrillic ) began to attract many settlers, not only from other regions of Poland and other provinces of the Russian Empire , but also from German states . In 1860, 4,423 Jews lived in the town, 34.5% of its residents. During the January Uprising , on April 15, 1863, Polish insurgents fought two victorious clashes against

5494-414: The war, while the fate of many remains unknown to this day. By the end of World War II approximately 30,000 local Jews had been murdered, and 20,000 local Catholics were either murdered or expelled to the more eastern part of German-occupied Poland ( General Government ) or to Germany as slave workers . In 1945 the population of the city was 43,000 – approximately half the pre-war figure. In 1945, Kalisz

5576-429: The war, while the fate of many remains unknown to this day. Jews from the region were also expelled and deported to other locations, including to Nazi ghettos , concentration camps and forced labour camps. From 1940, the occupiers also operated several forced labour camps for Jews in the region. Due to poor feeding and sanitary conditions, epidemics spread in those camps, which, combined with frequent executions, led to

5658-408: Was invaded by Sweden , and several battles were fought in the region, including at Ujście , Kłecko and Kcynia . In the 18th century kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland often resided in Wschowa , and sessions of the Senate of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were held there, thus the town being dubbed the "unofficial capital of Poland". In 1768 a new Gniezno Voivodeship

5740-434: Was aimed at the children's biological destruction. The Germans also operated Germanisation camps for Polish children taken away from their parents in Kalisz, Poznań, Puszczykowo and Zaniemyśl . The children were given new German names and surnames, and were punished for any use of the Polish language, even with death. After their stay in the camp, the children were deported to Germany; only some returned to Poland after

5822-413: Was approximately 81,000. The Jewish population of Kalisz at the time was 27,000. After the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, the proximity of the border once again proved disastrous. Kalisz was captured by the Wehrmacht after Polish resistance, and the city was annexed by Germany . In revenge for resistance, the Wehrmacht carried out massacres of Polish defenders, who were executed both in

5904-471: Was created in 1999, however, parts of Greater Poland are located in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian , Lubusz , Łódź and West Pomeranian voivodeships. The region is rich in historical architecture of various styles from Romanesque and Gothic through Renaissance and Baroque to Neoclassical and Art Nouveau . Greater Poland boasts 13 Historic Monuments of Poland : Major museums include

5986-532: Was declared a fortress in the closing stages of the war, being taken by the Red Army in the Battle of Poznań , which ended on 22 February 1945. After the war, Greater Poland was fully reintegrated with Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the 1980s. The region experienced several waves of anti-communist protests and strikes, including the 1956 Poznań protests and

6068-454: Was established in Poznań. Activities included secret Polish schooling , secret Catholic services, printing and distribution of Polish underground press , sabotage actions, espionage of German activity, military trainings, production of false documents, preparations for a planned uprising, and even secret football games. The Polish resistance provided aid to people in need, including prisoners, escapees from camps and ghettos and deserters from

6150-521: Was formed out of the northern part of Kalisz Voivodeship. However more far-reaching changes would come with the Partitions of Poland . In the first partition (1772), northern parts of Greater Poland along the Noteć (German Netze ) were taken over by Prussia , becoming the Netze District . In the second partition (1793) the whole of Greater Poland was absorbed by Prussia, becoming part of

6232-573: Was granted to Mieszko III the Old . The eastern part, with Gniezno and Kalisz , was part of the Seniorate Province centered in Kraków , granted to Władysław II . However, for most of the period the two parts were under a single ruler, and were known as the Duchy of Greater Poland (although at times there were separately ruled duchies of Poznań, Gniezno, Kalisz and Ujście ). It was one of

6314-557: Was occupied by the Margraviate of Brandenburg . In 1331, during the Polish–Teutonic War of 1326–1332 , the Teutonic Knights invaded central and eastern Greater Poland, however, the Poles defeated the invaders at Kalisz and an indecisive battle was fought at Konin . The Teutonic Knights soon retreated. King Casimir III the Great regained parts of northwestern Greater Poland, including Drezdenko in 1365 and Wałcz , Czaplinek and Człopa in 1368. Poland still attempted to recover

6396-625: Was operated in Żabikowo , where mostly Poles were imprisoned, but also Luxembourgers, Dutch, Hungarians, Slovaks, Americans, Russians and deserters from the Wehrmacht , and many were tortured and executed. The Polish resistance movement was active in the region, including the Union of Armed Struggle , Bataliony Chłopskie , Gray Ranks and Home Army . The Polish Underground State was organized, and in July 1940, even an underground Polish parliament

6478-495: Was restored to Poland, although with a Soviet -installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the Fall of Communism in the 1980s. Following the war, Jewish Holocaust survivors returned to the city, by 1946 numbering some 500. By the late 1940s only some 100 remained, and those few who stayed blended into Polish society. In 1975, after Edward Gierek 's reform of the administrative division of Poland , Kalisz again became

6560-525: Was reunited, the town became a centre of weaving and wood products, as well as one of the cultural centres of Greater Poland. In 1282 the city laws were confirmed by Przemysł II of Poland , and in 1314 it was made the capital of the Kalisz Voivodeship by King Ladislaus the Short . Located roughly in the centre of Poland (as its borders stood in that era), Kalisz was a centre of trade. In 1331,

6642-640: Was signed between Russia and Prussia in 1813, confirming that Prussia now was on the side of the Allies. After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte , Kalisz became a provincial capital of Congress Poland and then the capital of a province of the Russian Empire . In the 1820s a special Jewish quarter was created where the third of the town that was Jewish was required to live; it existed until 1862. Fryderyk Chopin visited Kalisz in 1826, 1828 and 1830. Prussia and Russia held joint military exercises near

6724-537: Was situated in the territory of the Diduni in Magna Germania . Archaeological excavations have uncovered early medieval settlement from the Piast dynasty period, c. 9th–12th centuries. Modern Kalisz was most likely founded in the 9th century as a provincial capital castellany and a minor fort. As part of the region of Greater Poland , i.e. the cradle of the Polish state, the town formed part of Poland since

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