Celebration of monarchs convention to promote Krakow

 
Professor of History at the Jagiellonian University Andrzej Chwalba suggested in a column of Dziennik Polski to organize a kings and princes convention in Krakow in 2014.
?In 2014, Krakow should organize a celebration for commemorating the 650th anniversary of the monarchs? convention in Poland in 1364, commonly known as the ?Feast at Wierzynek?s,?? Chwalba said late last week. The central point of the gala will be the meeting of kings, queens and princes of Europe, he added. 
Wierzynek is Krakow?s most famous restaurant, where Mikolaj Wierzynek held a feast for European monarchs invited by Polish King Kazimierz the Great in 1364 to settle an argument that brought the continent on the verge of war. The king, however, had to have a pretext to get the monarchs together and the forthcoming wedding of his granddaughter with King Charles of Luxembourg proved ideal for this purpose.
King Kazimierz the Great asked Wierzynek, an affluent merchant, to supervise the festivities that were to take place on the occasion.
Unfortunately, the monarchs could not reach a compromise and only after Wierzynek invited the king and his guests to his house for a sumptuous feast that lasted 21 days and nights was a consensus reached. Among his guests were German Emperor Charles IV and King Louis of Hungary. 
Apart from being incredibly wealthy, Wierzynek was also generous. He presented the guests with gifts of extraordinary value.
The king was so delighted with Wierzynek?s feast and the effect it had on his guests that he granted him a permit allowing him to host such prominent personae anytime they came to Krakow.
?This celebration could be an occasion to organize many events, meetings and discussions,? said Chwalba. He added that the occasion could also bring up some more controversial questions.
For instance: should Krakow again become the capitol of Poland (in 1596, Polish King Sigismund III of the Swedish House of Vasa moved the capital to Warsaw).
Mayor of Krakow Jacek Majchrowski took great liking to the idea of holding the congress in 2014.
Such a meeting would be yet another occasion for the city to be promoted both within and outside Europe.
Elzbieta Filipiak, the owner of Wierzynek restaurant, said that if she was offered to prepare a feast for 2014 she would do so willfully. She would even try to serve the dishes originally prepared for the feast of 1364.

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