Šilutė (; previously Šilokarčiama; ) is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County in western Lithuania. The city is part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. 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. From 1863, a Lithuanian newspaper was issued in the settlement. 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. the Stalag Luft VI camp for airmen, and the Oflag 53 camp for officers.

Architecture

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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.

Economy

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 m<sup>3</sup> 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.

Twin towns – sister cities

Šilutė is twinned with:

  • Alanya, Turkey
  • Cittaducale, Italy
  • Emmerich am Rhein, Germany
  • Gdańsk County, Poland
  • Kołobrzeg, Poland
  • Ljungby, Sweden
  • Malbork, Poland
  • Ostróda (rural gmina), Poland
  • Pruszcz Gdański, Poland
  • Saldus, Latvia
  • Skadovsk, Ukraine
  • Bessarabske, Ukraine
  • Vellinge, Sweden

Notable people

  • Hermann Sudermann (1857–1928), dramatist and novelist
  • Vydūnas (Wilhelm Storost) (1868 in Jonaten – 1953) Prussian-Lithuanian teacher, poet, humanist and philosopher
  • Katharina Szelinski-Singer (1918–2010), sculptor
  • Cornell Borchers (1925–2014), actress
  • Herbert Schernus (1927 in Wießen – 1994) German choral conductor
  • Hans-Georg Reimann (born 1941 in Starrischken) former East German race walker
  • Doris Nefedov maiden name Treitz (1942–1969), German singer under the stage name "Alexandra"
  • Raimondas Rumšas (born 1972), cyclist, 3rd place in 2002 Tour de France
  • Mindaugas Timinskas (born 1974), basketball player
  • Deividas Dulkys (born 1988), basketball player
  • Evaldas Petrauskas (born 1992), boxer. 3rd place in 2012 Summer Olympics
  • Monika Linkytė (born 1992), singer, 11th place in Eurovision Song Contest 2023

Climate

Šilutė has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb).

References

  • Municipal website

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