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Kalisz is situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby town of Ostrów Wielkopolski.

Sometimes Kalisz is called "the oldest town of Poland" because the mention by Ptolemy of a town called Calisia that was situated 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.

Modern Kalisz was most probably founded in 9th century as a castellany and a minor fort.

In 1792 the town was struck by a fire that destroyed much of its centre. The following year, following the II partition of Poland, the town was annexed by Kingdom of Prussia.

After the outbreak of the Great War, the proximity of the border proved disastrous for the city, as it was one of the first destroyed towns of that war. After a series of border clashes, the German army bombed the city with artillery. During the heavy fights that lasted from August 7 to August 22, 1914, the town was destroyed almost completely.

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