Viestards

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Viestards (Viesturs) was one of the greatest Semigallian kings in the 13th century. His capital was Tērvete. In the first decades of the 13th century he was allied to German crusaders, however he never accepted Christianity and accepted only one monk in Semigallia as a preacher.

When German crusaders broke the peace treaty and attacked the Semigallian castle in Mežotne, Viestards became an implacable enemy to the Germans. He made an alliance with his neighbors the Lithuanians. Together they fought many battles against the crusaders. Viestards died in 1230, but the Semigallians still were not defeated.