Pasvalys

Pasvalys grew near the meeting of the Svalia and Lėvuo in northern Lithuania. A church built in 1497–1498 helped establish the settlement as a local centre. In 1557 it became the setting for negotiations between Grand Duke Sigismund Augustus and Wilhelm von Fürstenberg, master of the Livonian Order. Their agreements settled an immediate dispute and brought Lithuania and Livonia closer together against Moscow. Ivan IV used the treaties as a pretext for invading Livonia the following year, opening the long Livonian War.