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Palace on the Isle, Łazienki Park, Warsaw

The Thursday Dinners (Polish: obiady czwartkowe) were meetings of artists, intellectuals, and statesmen held by the last King of Poland, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski in the era of Enlightenment in Poland.

The dinners were held first in the Royal Castle in Warsaw and later in the Palace on the Isle between 1770 and 1784. During the dinners, which typically lasted three hours and resembled French salons, the king dined with his guests and discussed literature, art, and politics.

The number of guests fluctuated over the years, but there were about thirty regulars. Many of them were prominent Polish figures, including luminaries such as Ignacy Krasicki, Franciszek Bohomolec, Adam Naruszewicz, Ignacy Potocki, Hugo Kołłątaj, Jan and Jędrzej Śniadecki, Stanisław Konarski, Tomasz Adam Ostrowski and kanclerz Andrzej Zamoyski.

There were also less well known 'Wednesday Dinners' (obiady środowe). While the Thursday Dinners gathered mostly artists (painters, poets, etc.), the Wednesday ones brought together educators, scientists and political activists.

The Thursday Dinners spawned the first Polish literary magazine, Zabawy Przyjemne i Pożyteczne (Diversions Pleasurable and Useful), printed from 1770 to 1777.

References

• "Literary Activities and Attitudes in the Stanislavian Age in Poland (1764-1795): A Social System?" by Jan IJ. van der Meer, ISBN 90-420-0933-0
• "Poland's Last King and English Culture: Stanisław August Poniatowski, 1732-1798" by Richard Butterwick, ISBN 0-19-820701-8