The orphanage can be proud of its long history. In 1888, through the efforts of Priest Vichman (Wichmann), a Catholic children’s shelter was established, which received annual financial support from the Prussian government. In 1905, a new, spacious three-storey shelter building was constructed. It could accommodate about 60 children, most of whom were orphans and abandoned children from Žemaitija. The authorities provided one-time grants to the shelter, and on several occasions the Klaipėda Region Directorate allocated funds for building repairs. The institution was run by German Elisabethan nuns. In the autumn of 1944, as the front approached, the residents were evacuated to East Prussia, and the nuns left together with them. In 1949, municipal apartments were installed in the orphanage building, and later the building was renovated. In 1961, it became home to the “Eglutė” children’s tuberculosis sanatorium, where children aged 6 to 16 received treatment. At one time, about one hundred children and adolescents could be treated at the sanatorium, and an eight-year school operated alongside it. On November 7, 2004, the sanatorium was closed.

The building was neglected. The unmaintained architectural monument quickly turned into a shelter for the homeless, with shattered windows and broken doors. In the winter of 2007, a fire broke out in the building’s semi-basement. Six months later, another fire in the attic destroyed the entire roof, and water flooded the lower floors.

In 2011, by decision of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, the building was returned to the Šilutė Holy Cross Catholic Parish. As the parish did not have the financial means to restore the building on its own due to its poor condition, in 2018—working together with the Šilutė District Municipality on planned renovation works—the building was transferred to the ownership of the Šilutė District Municipality. In December 2022, the renovated Spiritual Culture Center “Eglutė” opened its doors to visitors.