| Šilutė | |||||||||
| Settlement Type: | City | ||||||||
| Pushpin Map: | Lithuania | ||||||||
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Šilutė | ||||||||
| Coordinates: | 55.35°N 50°W | ||||||||
| Subdivision Type: | Country | ||||||||
| Subdivision Type1: | Ethnographic region | ||||||||
| Subdivision Name1: | Lithuania Minor | ||||||||
| Subdivision Type2: | County | ||||||||
| Subdivision Name2: | Klaipėda County | ||||||||
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality | ||||||||
| Subdivision Name3: | Šilutė district municipality | ||||||||
| Subdivision Type4: | Eldership | ||||||||
| Subdivision Name4: | Šilutė eldership | ||||||||
| Subdivision Type6: | Capital of | ||||||||
| Subdivision Name6: | Šilutė district municipality Šilutė eldership | ||||||||
| Established Date: | 13th century | ||||||||
| Established Title: | First mentioned | ||||||||
| Established Date2: | 1941 | ||||||||
| Established Title2: | Granted city rights | ||||||||
| Population Total: | 14,968 | ||||||||
| Population As Of: | 2020 | ||||||||
| Timezone: | EET | ||||||||
| Utc Offset: | +2 | ||||||||
| Timezone Dst: | EEST | ||||||||
| Utc Offset Dst: | +3 | ||||||||
| Blank Name Sec1: | Climate | ||||||||
| Blank Info Sec1: | Dfb | ||||||||
| Module: |
| ||||||||
Šilutė (; previously Šilokarčiama; German: Heydekrug) is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County in western Lithuania. The city was part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. Šilutė was the interwar capital of Šilutė County and is currently the capital of Šilutė District Municipality.
Šilutė's origin dates to an inn (Krug, locally karčema) catering to travelers and their horses which was located halfway between Klaipėda and Tilsit (Tilžė). The German name of Heydekrug referred to a Krug (an archaic word for inn) in the Heide (heathland). The inn was known for being in the region where most people spoke the Memelland-Samogitian dialect Šilokarčema.
A famous fish market was opened in Šilutė almost 500 years ago, when Georg Tallat purchased the inn together with the land and fishing rights in 1511. The town was a gathering place for peasants from nearby Samogitia and Curonian and Prussian fishermen from Rusnė,, Nida, and . Next to the inn a church of Werden (Verdainė) was built in 1550. It was a part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as a fief of Poland, held by the Teutonic Knights[1] and secular Ducal Prussia.
From the 18th century, it was part of the Kingdom of Prussia. Heydekrug often sought town rights, but was opposed by Memel (Klaipėda) and Tilsit in 1721 and 1725. In 1722 it became a district center and in 1818 the capital of Landkreis Heydekrug, a predominantly Lithuanian-inhabited district in the late 19th century.[2] From 1863, a Lithuanian newspaper was issued in the settlement.[3] In the late 19th century, the settlement had a partly Lithuanian population of 2,042, which was mostly employed in agriculture, fishing and timber rafting.[3] Several annual fairs were held there.[3] Among the goods sold at the fairs were fish (e.g. to Warsaw and Saint Petersburg), pigs (to Berlin), vegetables, cattle, horses. The settlement was amalgamated with the villages of Werden (Verdainė), Szibben (Žibai), and Cynthionischken (Cintjoniškiai) in 1910, although it still did not receive city rights. Following World War I, the town became part of Lithuania when it acquired the Klaipėda Region in 1923.
The town was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1939 when it reacquired the Memel Territory. In 1941 the town finally received city rights. Under German occupation during World War II, it was the location of several German prisoner-of-war camps for Allied POWs of various nationalities, incl. the Stalag 331 C/I-C and Stalag I-D camps for regular soldiers,[4] the Stalag Luft VI camp for airmen, and the Oflag 53 camp for officers.[5]
There remain many old buildings in Šilutė: an old post office (1905), a fire station (1911), a court building and prison (1848), a bridge across the Sziesze (Šyša) (1914), an estate of H. Scheu (1818), an old market square, a harbor, railway station and a bridge (1875), and the Vydūnas gymnasium.
The town, which is a regional center, has a well-developed infrastructure. There is an amateur theatre, a museum, three churches, a few hotels, and many cafés, restaurants, and bars. There are large industrial enterprises in Šilutė as well: Šilutės Rambynas (1842), producing butter and cheese, is one of the oldest factories in the area; Šilutės Baldai (1890); and Šilutės Durpės (1882) which exports approximately 50,000 m3 of peat. Newly founded enterprises are also prospering: Šilutės Girnos (combined fodder); Žibai; Grabupėliai (meat processing); and EKSA, a subsidiary of the alcohol producer Stumbras. To speed up capital investments, the region council has established land tax bonuses for investors.
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Lithuania.
Alanya, Turkey
Cittaducale, Italy
Gdańsk County, Poland Kołobrzeg, Poland
Ljungby, Sweden Malbork, Poland Ostróda (rural gmina), Poland Pruszcz Gdański, Poland
Saldus, Latvia
Skadovsk, Ukraine Tarutyne, Ukraine Vellinge, SwedenŠilutė has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb).