Thursday Dinners

During the Age of Enlightenment, Warsaw was modernised and became a favourite meeting place for notable people in the worlds of art, architecture and literature along with other intellectuals and statesmen.

During the gatherings, which typically lasted three hours and were akin to French salons, the King and his guests discussed literature, art and politics over a light meal.

The number of guests varied over the years, with about thirty regulars, including politicians, writers, bibliophiles, military officers of rank and philosophers.

The Thursday Dinners spawned the first Polish literary magazine, Zabawy Przyjemne i Pożyteczne [pl] - "Diversions Pleasurable and Useful", published from 1770 to 1777.

In the 1990s, Warsaw Mayor Paweł Piskorski reinstated the tradition by holding Tuesday Breakfasts to talk over current issues with leading businessmen and activists.