Švėkšna is a town in the Šilutė District municipality, 21 km northeast of

Šilutė Šilutė (, previously ''Šilokarčiama'', german: link=no, 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 Š ...

, Lithuania. It is the administrative center of

Švėkšna elderate Švėkšna is a town in the Šilutė District municipality, 21 km northeast of Šilutė, Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Švėkšna elderate. There are 29 streets in the town. In the western part of the town flows the river Švė ...

. There are 29 streets in the town. In the western part of the town flows the river Švėkšnalė. There is a

mental hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociati ...

in the town, as well as a health care centre,

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

, secondary school, affiliates of music and art schools of Šilutė,

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

, recreation center,

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...

, 2 churches, the renovated synagogue, the parish's nursing home, the planning department, a post office, police station and fire house.

History

Švėkšna has been mentioned since the 14th century. Supposedly, the settlement could have been established after the

Treaty of Melno The Treaty of Melno ( lt, Melno taika; pl, Pokój melneński) or Treaty of Lake Melno (german: Friede von Melnosee) was a peace treaty ending the Gollub War. It was signed on 27 September 1422, between the Teutonic Knights and an alliance of the ...

in 1422, when the danger of the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

had declined. On March 8, 1503, Švėkšna was mentioned in the act of Linkuva church's foundation and subsidy. In 1509, Švėkšna belonged to Kęsgaila, the

Elder of Samogitia The Duchy of Samogitia ( lt, Žemaičių seniūnija, sgs, Žemaitėjės seniūnėjė, pl, Księstwo żmudzkie)Grzegorz Błaszczyk, ''Żmudź w XVII i XVIII wieku: zaludnienie i struktura społeczna'', Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Pozn ...

. In 19th century Švėkšna was a property of Plater family. At the time a bridge connecting church and manor was built. At the end of 19th century during

Lithuanian press ban The Lithuanian press ban ( lt, spaudos draudimas) was a ban on all Lithuanian language publications printed in the Latin alphabet in force from 1865 to 1904 within the Russian Empire, which controlled Lithuania proper at the time. Lithuanian-lan ...

it was one of major centre's for distributing Lithuanian literature in Latin print. In 1941, at least 20 Jews were murdered in a mass execution by an

Einsatzgruppe (, ; also ' task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the impl ...

. The execution was carried out by order of SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Joachim Böhme, commander of Gestapo Tilsit. The murder site is in the old Jewish cemetery on the outskirts of the town on Aušros street, there is a monument at the location. On January 18, 2000,

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

of Švėkšna were granted by the presidential decree.

Notable people

Jonas Žukas Jonas Žukas (12 November 1907 in Švėkšna, Lithuania – 8 December 2004 in Towson, Maryland) was a Lithuanian organ player and teacher. He performed for more than 50 years in Lithuania, Germany, United States, and Canada. Since 2006, an organ ...

(1907–2004), Lithuanian organ player and teacher

References

External links

Samogitian Art Museum about Švėkšną

Švėkšna in the official website of Šilutė District municipality

under the

Towns in Lithuania Towns in Klaipėda County Holocaust locations in Lithuania {{KlaipėdaCounty-geo-stub