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Širvintos

Coordinates: 55°2′10″N 24°58′10″E / 55.03611°N 24.96944°E / 55.03611; 24.96944
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Širvintos
Town
Coat of arms of Širvintos
Širvintos is located in Lithuania
Širvintos
Širvintos
Location of Širvintos
Coordinates: 55°2′10″N 24°58′10″E / 55.03611°N 24.96944°E / 55.03611; 24.96944
Country Lithuania
Ethnographic regionAukštaitija
County Vilnius County
MunicipalityŠirvintos district municipality
EldershipŠirvintos eldership
Capital ofŠirvintos district municipality
Širvintos eldership
First mentioned1475
Granted city rights1950
Population
 (2023)
 • Total6,790
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Širvintos (pronunciation) is a city in Vilnius County in eastern Lithuania. It is the administrative center of the Širvintos district municipality.[1]

Names

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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

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Local parish house in 1919

During World War II, the town was occupied by the Soviet Union from 1940, then by Nazi Germany from 1941, and once again by the Soviet Union from 1944. Before the war, 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

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