Hermann Sudermann Monument

Hermann Sudermann, a renowned German writer and playwright, was born on September 30, 1857, in the village of Macikai near Šilutė, where he lived for 12 years. He studied at a private primary school in Verdainė, continued his education in Elbing (East Prussia), and graduated from Tilsit Gymnasium in 1875. He pursued further studies in Königsberg and Berlin while earning a living by tutoring children from wealthy families. Later, he left his studies and turned to journalism.
Sudermann wrote 20 plays and several prose works. His 1889 play Honor brought him international fame, and he became one of the most popular playwrights of his era. In his Lithuanian Stories, he depicted the places and people of his homeland. The work was dedicated to Hugo Scheu, a patron of Šilutė’s cultural life. Notable stories like Journey to Tilsit, Mikas Bumbulis, and Jonas and Erdme are considered his literary masterpieces.
In 1936, a monument to Sudermann was erected in Šilutė. Hugo Scheu supported the project by donating the land and planting the alley with birch trees, the writer’s favorite. The sculptor was Erich Schmidt-Kestner. During the Soviet era, the monument was demolished and replaced with an obelisk for Soviet soldiers. In the years of national revival, the monument was restored thanks to the efforts of the Šilutė Hermann Sudermann Literary Club. Today, it features a gray marble bust on a 2-meter-high pedestal.