Gelgaudiškis Explained

Gelgaudiškis
Settlement Type:Town
Pushpin Map:Lithuania
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Gelgaudiškis
Coordinates:55.0833°N 22.9833°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Ethnographic region
Subdivision Name1:Sudovia
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Type3:Municipality
Subdivision Name3:Šakiai district municipality
Subdivision Type4:Eldership
Subdivision Name4:Gelgaudiškis eldership
Subdivision Type6:Capital of
Subdivision Name6:Gelgaudiškis eldership
Established Date:15th century
Established Title:First mentioned
Established Date2:1958
Established Title2:Granted city rights
Area Total Km2:3.37
Population Total:1,557
Population As Of:2021
Population Density Km2:auto
Elevation M:51
Timezone:EET
Utc Offset:+2
Timezone Dst:EEST
Utc Offset Dst:+3
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:LT-71085
Area Code:(+370) 345
Website:gelgaudiskis.lt

Gelgaudiškis is a town in the Šakiai district municipality, Lithuania. It is located 15km (09miles) north of Šakiai. The town is just south of Neman River.

Name

Gelgaudiškis is the Lithuanian name of the town. Versions of the name in other languages include Polish: Giełgudyszki, Russian: Гельгудишки Gel'gudishki, Belarusian: Гельгудiшкi Gel'hudishki, Yiddish: געלגודישק Gelgudishk.

History

Before the end of the 14th century the area of Gelgaudiškis settlement and manor, positioned on the upper bank of Neman, belonged to the Grand Dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1504, King and Grand Duke Aleksander Jagiellon gave it away as a gift to his royal secretary Sapieżyc, progenitor to the szlachta family of Sapieha. Afterwards, the grange belonged to families of Massalski, Dembiński, Oziembłowski, Giełgud, Czartoryski, the Prussian barons von Keudell, and finally Komar family (till the beginning of World War I). In the interwar period, the establishment was nationalized and housed an orphanage and later a school.

The classicist palace was built in the first half of the 19th century by the family of von Keudell. After the fire of 1979 the palace was rebuilt and since remains unoccupied. It is surrounded by a garden and forested park with an area of 112 ha leading to Neman (Lithuanian: Nemunas) River.

The town and nearby castle is mentioned in John Gielgud: The Authorized Biography, (by Sheridan Morley), as being the actor's ancestral home and from where his family name originated.

During World War I, it was occupied by Germany. During World War II, it was occupied by the Soviet Union from 1940, by Nazi Germany from 1941, and then once again by the Soviet Union from 1944.

External links