Gelgaudiškis Manor

Gelgaudiškis Manor after the reconstruction

Gelgaudiškis Manor (Lithuanian: Gelgaudiškio dvaras) is a former residential manor in Gelgaudiškis, Šakiai District Municipality, Lithuania.

Etymology

The name Gelgaudiškis derives from the name of Jurgis Gedgaudas, a diplomat from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, who built a castle on the right bank of the Nemunas River not long after the Battle of Žalgiris, near present-day town of Gelgaudiškis.

Architecture

The present manor house was commissioned by Gustav von Keudell and built in 1846.

History

Early history

In written sources from the early 15th century, Gelgaudiškis is regarded as a part of Skirsnemunė palivarkas. In 1504 or 1507, the Grand Duke Alexander granted Gelgaudiškis with the woodland from the Nemunas to Siesartis rivers to the nobleman Ivanas Sapiega. After his death, the estate passed on to his widow Elžbieta Sapiegienė. Stanislovas Skopas, the lord of Skirsnemunė, took advantage of this situation and seized Gelgaudiškis by force. Only after the involvement of King Sigismund the Old was the manor returned to the widow, and after her death, it became the subject of disputes between her stepsons. After lengthy negotiations, in 1566 the manor of Gelgaudiškis passed to Povilas Sapiega castellan of Kyiv and the owner of Zapyškis estate, who built the first church in Gelgaudiškis in 1578. After the death of Povilas Sapiega in 1580, the manor passed to Andrius Sapiega. Who quickly leased the manor with all its buildings and land, including the Zapyškis estate, to Grand Pantler of Lithuania, the elder of Kaunas and Telšiai, Jonas Chodkevičius. Since then, the manor has changed hands frequently and the Sapiegas' rule in Gelgaudiškės ended.

In 1586, the manor was bought by a minor noble Kasparas Oziemblovskis.

17th century

In the Gelgaudiškis church book, in 1640, the brothers Motiejus and Andrius Oziemblovskis, sons of Kasparas, and Stanislovas Oziemblovskis, an Elder of Vilkmergė, were recorded as the owners of the manor. Later, the manor passed to Danielius Chžonstovkis from Samogitia, as dowry after marrying Elžbieta Oziemblovskaitė. Chžonstovkis remarried after her death. Since the Chžonstovskis family were Calvinists, they built a separate burial chapel.

After the death of Chžonstovskis in 1665, the inventory of Gelgaudiškis manor was compiled. From the inventory, it is known that the manor could be accessed through four gates. One of the gates was adjacent to the cheese cellar. The manor also included several residential houses, barns, a few granaries, threshing floor, a malthouse, a bakery, and a sauna.

From 1691 the manor belonged to Kazimieras Oziemblovskis, who built a second wooden church. Later, the manor passed to the Gelgaudas family.

18th-19th century

In the second half of the 18th century (or possibly earlier), Gelgaudiškis were governed by the Čartoriskis family.

In 1797, Prince Adomas Kazimieras Čartoriskis sold Gelgaudiškis. It was bought by a German baron, Theodor Henrik Friedrich von Keudell, born in 1751, who bought only the Lower Gelgaudiškis for 75 000 ducats on preferential terms (which were granted to the German baron by Prussia, which had occupied the region). Higher Gelgaudiškis was bought by Otonas Melkė around the same time.