Širvintos

Town in Aukštaitija, Lithuania

Coat of arms

55°2′10″N 24°58′10″E / 55.03611°N 24.96944°E / 55.03611; 24.96944Country

LithuaniaEthnographic regionAukštaitijaCounty

Vilnius CountyMunicipality Širvintos district municipalityEldershipŠirvintos eldershipCapital ofŠirvintos district municipality
Širvintos eldershipFirst mentioned1475Granted city rights1950Population

(2023)

• Total6,790Time zoneUTC+2 (EET) • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Širvintos (pronunciation^ⓘ, German: Schirwindt) is a town in Vilnius County in the eastern part of Lithuania. It is the administrative center of the Širvintos district municipality.^[1]

The word Širvintos is the plural form of the name of the Širvinta River, which flows through the town.

Its alternate names include Shirvintay, Shirvintos, Širvintai, Širvintar, and Szyrwinty (Polish).^[1]

History

Before World War II, the town had an important Jewish community representing one-third of the total population.^[2] In September 1941, Jews of the town are murdered in mass executions perpetrated by Germans and Lithuanian collaborators.^[3]

Since 2010, the city started expanding and renovated the city center which improved its image and popularity.

References

^ ^a ^b United States Board on Geographic Names – Lithuania – Širvintos. Accessed January 24, 2014.
^ "Preserving Our Litvak Heritage, Volume II (Pages 166-177)". jewishgen.org. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
^ "המכון הבין-לאומי לחקר השואה - יד ושם". yadvashem.org. Retrieved July 15, 2017.