Tverai is a small town in Rietavas municipality

Rietavas municipality

Rietavas municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania....

, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

. It is situated on Aitra River, tributary to Jūra

Jura

-Mountains:*Jura mountains, on the French-Swiss-German border, the namesake of the Jurassic period of geology*Franconian Jura, a mountain range in southeastern Germany*Bernese Jura, a region in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland...

, about 17 km east from Rietavas

Rietavas

Rietavas is a city in Lithuania on the Jūra River. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 3,979. It is the capital of Rietavas municipality.The city is famous for building the first power station to produce electricity in Lithuania in 1892...

 and 14 km from Varniai

Varniai

Varniai , is a city in the Telšiai County, western Lithuania. In the Middle Ages the city was known as Medininkai. It was established in the 14th century, on the bank of the Varnelė River, near an important Samogitian castle. It was the center of Samogitian Catholic church: after the baptism of...

. Tverai, with population of about 700, is a capital of an elderate.

Tverai is identified with Tviriment Castle, mentioned in 1251 by the Hypatian Codex

Hypatian Codex

The Hypatian Codex is a compendium of three chronicles: the Primary Chronicle, Kiev Chronicle, and Galician-Volhynian Chronicle. It is the most important source of historical data for southern Rus'...

. The castle was the fortress where Vykintas

Vykintas

thumb|200 px|Monument to Duke Vykintas in TveraiVykintas was Duke of Samogitia and rival to future King of Lithuania Mindaugas. In 1236 he probably led Samogitian forces in the Battle of Saule against the Livonian Order...

, Duke of Samogitia

Samogitia

Samogitia is one of the five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. It is located in northwestern Lithuania. Its largest city is Šiauliai/Šiaulē. The region has a long and distinct cultural history, reflected in the existence of the Samogitian dialect...

 and victorious leader of the Battle of Saule, defended himself against Mindaugas

Mindaugas

Mindaugas was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians...

, crowned as King of Lithuania in 1253, during a civil war for power in the early Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

. Vykintas was defeated and Mindaugas became the undisputeded monarch.