The legend of Garliava

The legend tells that once upon a time this place was all covered by impassable swamps. One night, the lord of the manor Juzef Godlevsky was riding his horses across these lands and got bogged down. Terribly frightened, he began to pray to be saved, and promised to God that if he stayed alive, he would build a church there. He eventually managed to escape and kept his promise. A new town started to grow around the church that Godlevsky built. The town was often called by the name of its founder Godlev, but Lithuanians called it their own way – Garliava. Later, Godlevsky, the lord of the manor, built a church for the Evangelical Lutherans, too, and a synagogue for the Jews, thus luring craftsmen of many different nationalities to live and work in his town.