:Šilutė

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.

File:Participants of the old marketplace near Šyša River in Šilutė in the early 20th century.jpg

File:Court building and the main street in Šilutė in 1914.jpg

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, {{Interlanguage link multi|Karklė|lt}}, Nida, and {{Interlanguage link multi|Lesnoje (Kaliningrad, Swetlogorsk)|de|3=Lesnoje (Kaliningrad, Swetlogorsk)|lt=Lesnoye}}. 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{{Cite book|last=Górski|first=Karol|title=Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych|year=1949|publisher=Instytut Zachodni|location=Poznań|language=pl,la|pages=96–97, 214–215}} 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.{{cite book|author= |title=Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XII|year=1892|language=pl|location=Warszawa|page=110}} From 1863, a Lithuanian newspaper was issued in the settlement.{{cite book|author= |title=Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XII|year=1892|language=pl|location=Warszawa|page=109}} 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. Several annual fairs were held there. 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,{{cite web|url=https://www.pegasusarchive.org/pow/Stalag.htm|title=German Camps|access-date=8 May 2022}} the Stalag Luft VI camp for airmen, and the Oflag 53 camp for officers.{{cite web|url=https://www.pegasusarchive.org/pow/Oflag.htm|title=German Oflag Camps|access-date=8 May 2022}}

File:Šilutės Fridricho Bajoraičio viešoji biblioteka.jpg

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}}

Šilutė is twinned with:{{cite web |title=Savivaldybės partneriai|url=https://www.silute.lt/apie-savivaldybe/savivaldybes-partneriai/74|website=silute.lt|publisher=Šilutė|language=lt|access-date=7 September 2019}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• {{flagicon|TUR}} Alanya, Turkey
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Cittaducale, Italy
• {{flagicon|GER}} Emmerich am Rhein, Germany
• {{flagicon|POL}} Gdańsk County, Poland
• {{flagicon|POL}} Kołobrzeg, Poland
• {{flagicon|SWE}} Ljungby, Sweden
• {{flagicon|POL}} Malbork, Poland
• {{flagicon|POL}} Ostróda (rural gmina), Poland
• {{flagicon|POL}} Pruszcz Gdański, Poland
• {{flagicon|LVA}} Saldus, Latvia
• {{flagicon|UKR}} Skadovsk, Ukraine
• {{flagicon|UKR}} Bessarabske, Ukraine
• {{flagicon|SWE}} Vellinge, Sweden

{{div col end}}

• 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

Šilutė has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb).

{{Weather box

|location = Šilutė (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1949−present)

|single line = Y

|metric first = Y

|Jan record high C = 9.8

|Feb record high C = 15.2

|Mar record high C = 20.9

|Apr record high C = 29.1

|May record high C = 30.9

|Jun record high C = 34.4

|Jul record high C = 33.7

|Aug record high C = 34.1

|Sep record high C = 31.8

|Oct record high C = 25.6

|Nov record high C = 17.4

|Dec record high C = 12.0

|year record high C =

|Jan high C = 0.5

|Feb high C = 1.2

|Mar high C = 5.2

|Apr high C = 12.5

|May high C = 18.1

|Jun high C = 20.9

|Jul high C = 23.4

|Aug high C = 23.0

|Sep high C = 18.1

|Oct high C = 11.7

|Nov high C = 5.8

|Dec high C = 2.0

|year high C =

|Jan mean C= -1.8

|Feb mean C= -1.4

|Mar mean C= 1.6

|Apr mean C= 7.4

|May mean C= 12.4

|Jun mean C= 15.7

|Jul mean C= 18.3

|Aug mean C= 17.8

|Sep mean C= 13.3

|Oct mean C= 8.0

|Nov mean C= 3.5

|Dec mean C= -0.1

|year mean C=

|Jan low C = -4.2

|Feb low C = -3.9

|Mar low C = -1.6

|Apr low C = 2.7

|May low C = 6.7

|Jun low C = 10.5

|Jul low C = 13.2

|Aug low C = 12.8

|Sep low C = 8.9

|Oct low C = 4.6

|Nov low C = 1.2

|Dec low C = -2.5

|year low C =

|Jan record low C = -33.2

|Feb record low C = -34.2

|Mar record low C = -25.1

|Apr record low C = -12.9

|May record low C = -4.8

|Jun record low C = -2.7

|Jul record low C = 2.7

|Aug record low C = 1.5

|Sep record low C = -3.0

|Oct record low C = -10.4

|Nov record low C = -22.9

|Dec record low C = -25.0

|year record low C =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 60

|Feb precipitation mm = 45

|Mar precipitation mm = 41

|Apr precipitation mm = 34

|May precipitation mm = 43

|Jun precipitation mm = 68

|Jul precipitation mm = 85

|Aug precipitation mm = 89

|Sep precipitation mm = 79

|Oct precipitation mm = 93

|Nov precipitation mm = 77

|Dec precipitation mm = 71

|year precipitation mm =

| Jan humidity = 86

| Feb humidity = 84

| Mar humidity = 80

| Apr humidity = 72

| May humidity = 71

| Jun humidity = 75

| Jul humidity = 77

| Aug humidity = 78

| Sep humidity = 81

| Oct humidity = 85

| Nov humidity = 88

| Dec humidity = 88

| year humidity =

| Jan sun = 45.4

| Feb sun = 67.6

| Mar sun = 148.8

| Apr sun = 226.0

| May sun = 295.2

| Jun sun = 284.3

| Jul sun = 290.5

| Aug sun = 260.8

| Sep sun = 188.8

| Oct sun = 111.6

| Nov sun = 43.7

| Dec sun = 34.0

| year sun =

|source 1 = Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service{{cite web |title=Klimato duomenys 1991-2020|url=https://www.meteo.lt/klimatas/lietuvos-klimatas/klimato-duomenys/ |website=Lietuvos hidrometeorologijos tarnyba |language=lt}}

|source 2 = NOAA (extremes){{cite web

| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-VI/LU/26600.TXT

| title = Silute Climate Normals 1961–1990

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = March 27, 2023}}}}

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Šilutė}}

• [http://silute.kryptis.lt/main.php Municipal website] {{in lang|lt}}

{{Klaipėda County}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silute}}

Category:Cities in Klaipėda County

Category:Cities in Lithuania

Category:Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania