Babina

Kalisz (pop. 110,000) is the main city of south-eastern Greater Poland and the region's second city (after Poznań). It is probably the oldest town in Poland. Ptolemy mentions a city named 'Calisia' in his Geographia, written circa AD 142–174, then part of the Amber Road. Archaeological excavations after the Second World War found remains of a settlement from that time. Kalisz got its municipal rights from duke Boleslaus the Pious in appr. 1260. After the location it developed rapidly, thanks to its central location in Kingdom of Poland and influx of Jewish refugees who wanted to escape religious persecution. During the Partition Time (1793-1918) it remained mostly under Russian control, and the border with the Prussia (later-on: Germany) was just next to the city westwards. Being disconnected from its historical lands, Kalisz aligned more closely with Łódź and became a relatively important textile manufacturing centre.