Šušvė is a river in central

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, a right (the longest) tributary of the Nevėžis river. It begins in

Kelmė district municipality Kelmė (; is a city in northwestern Lithuania, a historical region of Samogitia. It has a population of 8,206 and is the administrative center of the Kelmė district municipality. History Kelmė's name may come from the Lithuanian ''kelmynės'' ...

, 6 km (4 mi) southeast from

Tytuvėnai Tytuvėnai () is a city in the Kelmė district municipality, Lithuania. It is located east of Kelmė. It is known for its Bernardine monastery. History The first church in the town was built in 1555. The construction of the monastery was initi ...

. The river passes through Tytuvėnai and Sulinkiai Marshes and flows south through

Radviliškis district municipality Radviliškis () (german: Radwilischken; pl, Radziwiliszki; yi, ראדווילישאָק, ''Radvilishok'') is a town in the Radviliškis district municipality, Šiauliai County, Lithuania. Radviliškis has been the administrative center of the ...

. Finally, Šušvė passes through Kėdainiai district municipality and flows into the Nevėžis near Graužiai village. The width of the river valley is between 0.5 and 3 km. From December to March Šušvė is usually frozen. Dams were built at Vaitiekūnai and Angiriai (

Angiriai Reservoir The Angiriai Reservoir is an artificial lake in Kėdainiai District Municipality, central Lithuania. It is located north-west from Josvainiai town. It was created in 1980, when a dam on the Šušvė river had been built next to Angiriai village. ...

). The Šušvė Hydrological Sanctuary was established in 1992 to protect the lower courses of the river. The main towns and villages by the Šušvė river are

Šiaulėnai Šiaulėnai ( pl, Szawlany) is a town near Šiauliai in Lithuania located at . It is in the Radviliškis district municipality in Šiauliai County. It is the capital of Šiaulėnai elderate. History During the 1784 census, Šiaulėnai was locate ...

, Pašušvys (Radviliškis municipality),

Grinkiškis Grinkiškis ( pl, Grynkiszki, yi, גרינקישאָק, ''Grinkishok'') is a town in the Radviliškis District Municipality in Šiauliai County, Lithuania. It is situated on the Šušvė River. It is the seat of an eldership. According to the 2 ...

, Vaitiekūnai, Pašušvys (Kėdainiai municipality),

Angiriai Angiriai or Angeriai (meaning 'a place on woods', formerly russian: Онгиры, pl, Ongiry) is a village in Kėdainiai district municipality, in Kaunas County, in central Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the village had a population of ...

Josvainiai Josvainiai (formerly pl, Jaswojnie, russian: link=no, Ясвойни, Ясвойне) is a small town in Kėdainiai district, central Lithuania. It is located on the Šušvė River 10 km southwest from Kėdainiai. In the town there is a C ...

Tributaries

The following rivers are tributaries to the river Šušvė (from source to mouth): *Left: Šušvaitė, Beržutė, Malštovė, Beržė, Srautas, Krimslė, Paliūnys, Paupelys, Žiedupė; *Right: Šėta, Upytė, Gomerta, Žadikė, Vedreikė, Miegotas,

Ažytė The Ažytė is a river of Raseiniai district municipality and Kėdainiai district municipality, central Lithuania. It is a right tributary of the Šušvė river. It flows for 20 kilometres and has a basin area of 98 km². It originates near Be ...

, Skardūnė, Raguva, Pečiupė, Cigoniškė, Žemėplėša,

Liedas The Liedas (or ''Leda'') is a river of Kėdainiai district municipality, Kaunas County, central Lithuania. It flows for 17.7 kilometres and has a basin area of 31.5 km². It starts nearby Pelutava village and later flows through the Pernarav ...

, Lapskojis,

Vikšrupis The Vikšrupis is a river of Kėdainiai district municipality, Kaunas County, central Lithuania. It flows for and has a basin area of . The river is a right tributary of the Šušvė. It starts nearby Jakšiai village, then flows to the west thr ...

, Grinčiupys,

Putnupys The Putnupys is a river of Kėdainiai district municipality, Kaunas County, central Lithuania. It flows for and has a basin area of . It originates in the Pernarava-Šaravai Forest, 3 km from Skaistgiriai village. The Putnupys flows to the sout ...

Etymology

The name ''Šušvė'' (or ''Šiušvė'') comes from the root ''šuš-'' as in Lithuanian verbs ''šiušinti, šiušėti, šiaušti''. All of them mean bouth 'to tousle' and onomatopoeicly allude to the sound of water. According to another interpretation, the name ''Šušvė'' is related to the Finno-Ugric hydronym ''Sosva''.Raymond Schmittlein. Toponymes finnois et germaniques en Lituanie. In: Onomastica. Paris, 1948. p. 97.

References

Rivers of Lithuania Kelmė District Municipality Radviliškis District Municipality Kėdainiai District Municipality {{Lithuania-river-stub