Šiluva
| Šiluva | |||
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| State : |
 Lithuania
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| District : | Kaunas | ||
| Rajong municipality : | Raseiniai | ||
| Coordinates : | 55 ° 32 ' N , 23 ° 14' E | ||
| Height : | 140 m | ||
| Inhabitants (place) : | 635 (2011) | ||
| Time zone : | EET (UTC + 2) | ||
| Telephone code : | (+370) 428 | ||
| Status: | Town, center of a part of the municipality |
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Šiluva (German, 18th century: Schidlau ) is a small town ( miestelis ) and the seat of the eponymous land office ( kaimo seniūnija ) in the Rajongemeinde Raseiniai , Lithuania . The town is known as a Catholic pilgrimage site around the Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary . The place is part of the Tytuvėnai Regional Park and is protected as an architectural ensemble.
The basis for the pilgrimages is the alleged appearance of the Virgin Mary on a stone in 1608 . A chapel was built around this stone, which was undoubtedly a former pagan cult site. In place of the original wooden chapel, which stood until 1912, a 44 m high stone building was erected, which was consecrated in 1924. The chapel is called Sveikata ligonių (health to the sick - Mary, salvation of the sick ). The indulgence fair with several thousand visitors takes place annually in September and is one of the largest and most important in Lithuania.
Pope John Paul II visited Šiluva in 1993 . To mark the occasion, a helipad was set up in neighboring Tytuvėnai and the road connecting it was paved.