Vepriai

Coat of arms

Location of Vepriai

Coordinates: 55°09′02″N 24°34′27″E / 55.15056°N 24.57417°ECoordinates: 55°09′02″N 24°34′27″E / 55.15056°N 24.57417°E

Lithuania

Aukštaitija

Ukmergė district municipality

Elderate

Vepriai elderate

Capital of

Vepriai elderate

First mentioned

1384

Population (2011)

• Total

549

Time zone

EET (UTC+2)

• Summer (DST)

EEST (UTC+3)

Vepriai (/ˈvæpreɪ/; simplified Lithuanian transcription [væprⁱaǐ]) is the largest town in Ukmergė district, Lithuania, situated south-west of Ukmergė with population of about 549 (2011). The capital of Vepriai elderate.

Vepriai was founded on a hill near Vepriai Lake and south of Šventoji River. It is first mentioned in Wigand of Marburg's Chronicle of 1384 under the name of Weperen. In the Middle Ages Vepriai was a powerful hill fort which assisted in protection of Lithuanian lands from western threats, primarily the Teutonic Order. Wigand of Marburg asserted that the castle belonged to the Grand Duke of Lithuania. In spring of 1384, during the Lithuanian civil war of 1381–1384 the united forces of Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas, under command of Nartautas, and the Teutonic Order, attacked the castle which was under control of Jogaila or Skirgaila and captured it. After the threats were eliminated, in the place of the destroyed wooden defensive castle on a piliakalnis a residential manor was built, ruled by various noble families for several centuries.

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Wikipedia