Garliava

City in Suvalkija, Lithuania

Coat of arms

54°49′0″N 23°52′0″E / 54.81667°N 23.86667°E / 54.81667; 23.86667Country

LithuaniaEthnographic regionSuvalkijaCounty

Kaunas CountyMunicipalityKaunas district municipalityEldershipGarliava eldershipCapital ofGarliava eldership
Garliava rural eldershipFirst mentioned1809Granted city rights1958Population

(2022)

• Total10,234Time zoneUTC+2 (EET) • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Garliava (pronunciation^ⓘ), is a city in Kaunas District Municipality, Lithuania. Garliava is located 10 km (6.2 mi) south from the center of Kaunas and has a territory of 3,65 km².

Name

Garliava is the Lithuanian name of the city. Versions of the name in other languages include Polish: Godlewo, Russian: Годлево Godlevo, Belarusian: Гадле́ва Gadleva, Yiddish: גודלעווע Gudleve, Latvian: Garļava.

History

In 1809 Józef Godlewski [pl] built a Holy Trinity church [lt] and named the settlement Godlewo in his own honour, although Lithuanians started calling it Garliava. This year is generally viewed as the year Garliava was founded. It lay along a significant postal route between Saint Petersburg, Kaunas, Marijampolė, and Warsaw.

Godlewski also built a place of worship for Lutherans and a synagogue for Jews.

Notable residents

Józef Godlewski [pl] (1773–1867), founder
Jonas Algimantas Boruta (1944-2022), Roman Catholic prelate
Juozas Gabrys (1880 – 1951), politician and advocate of Lithuanian independence, was born in Garliava. In his memoirs, he referred to himself as the "Count of Garliava."
Darius Labanauskas (*1976), darts player

Education

There are five schools: Garliavos Juozo Lukšos gymnasium, Garliavos Jonučių high school, Garliava high school, Kindergarten and primary school of Garliava, and Garliava school of arts and music.