Šilutė

Infobox Settlement
name = Šilutė
nickname =
settlement_type = City
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location of Šilutė
image_shield = Silute COA.gif
latd=55|latm=21|lats=|latNS=N|longd=21|longm=29|longs=|longEW=E
coordinates_display= inline,title
coordinates_type = region:LT_type:city(21000)
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = LTU
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 = 21,476
population_as_of = 2001
timezone=EET
utc_offset=+2
timezone_DST=EEST
utc_offset_DST=+3

Šilutė (pronunciation|Silute.ogg, previously "Šilokarčiama", _de. Heydekrug) is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County, 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.

Name

Šilutė's origin dates to an inn (Krug) catering for travelers and their horses which was located halfway between Memel and Tilsit. The German name of "Heydekrug" referred to a "Krug" (an archaic word for inn) in the "Heide" (heathland). The inn was known in Lithuanian as "Šilokarčema".

History

A famous fish market was opened in Heydekrug almost 500 years ago, when Georg Tallat purchased the inn together with the land and fishing rights in 1511. The town in Prussia was a gathering place for peasants from nearby Samogitia and fishermen from Ruß (Rusnė), Karkeln (Karklė), Nidden (Nida), and Sarckau (Lesnoye). Next to the inn a church of Werden (Verdainė) was built in 1550. Heydekrug often sought city rights, but was opposed by Memel and Tilsit in 1721 and 1725. In 1722 Heydekrug became a district center and in 1818 the capital of Landkreis Heydekrug. The settlement was amalgamated with the villages of Werden (Verdainė), Szibben (Žibai), and Cyntionischken (Cintjoniškiai) in 1910, although it still did not receive city rights. Following World War I and the splitting off of German territory by the Treaty of Versailles, the town became part of Lithuania as Šilutė when that country acquired the Memel Territory (Klaipėda region) in 1923.The town was reclaimed by Nazi Germany in 1939 when it reacquired the Memel Territory. In 1941 the town finally received city rights. During World War II, the Stalag Luft VI prisoner-of-war camp was located near Heydekrug; it was the northernmost POW camp within the confines of the German Reich.

There remained many old Heydekrug buildings in Šilutė: an old post office (1905), a fire station (1911), a court building and prison (1848), a bridge across the 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 region center, has a well-developed infrastructure. There is an amateur theatre, a museum, three churches, a few hotels, and many cafes, 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. In order to speed up capital investments, the region council has established land tax bonuses for investors.

International friendship

Šilutė maintains sister city relationships with the following cities:

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Famous people

* Hermann Sudermann (1857–1928), dramatist and novelist
* Katharina Szelinski-Singer (born 1918), sculptress
* Doris Treitz (1942–1969), singer under the stage name "Alexandra"
* Raimondas Rumšas (born 1972), cyclist, 3rd place in 2002 Tour de France
* Mindaugas Timinskas (born 1974), basketball player

References

External links

* [http://silute.kryptis.lt/main.php Municipal website] lt icon
* [http://www.pamarys.lt/tic/Tic_vok/CONTENT/miestas.html Tourismus Informationszentrum Šilutė] de icon
* [http://www.gps-practice-and-fun.com/stalag-luft-6.html Stalag Luft 6 Heydekrug]