ENAt the end of the 15th century there was only one church of Pašvitinys which was surrounded by forests in the North of the Upytė pavietas (district) of the Trakai vaivadija (province). It was built in 1459 at the border of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Livonia. After a number of wars between Lithuania and Livonia, and Ukmergė (Pabaiskas) battle in 1435 the new settling of the former areas of Žiemgaliai started. These areas were sparsely populated because of the wars against the Teutonic Order at the border. In the 1st-12th centuries there were some areas without forests, well drained and suitable for agriculture. Cultivation of wet clayey soils was initiated in the 15th-16th centuries. At that time the tools of production became more perfect and the export of forest increased. Linkuva as well as many small towns of the Upytė pavietas was founded in densely populated villages. In 1565 the estates of Linkuva and Plonėnai were mentioned for the first time in historical sources. In the cartograph materials Linkuva was mentioned in 1589. Kotryna Mykolienė from Žeimiai provided financing for the Linkuva church on March 8, 1503. In accordance with the will of the founder, the church possessed over 30 valakases of land. In Linkuva parish about a mile of the Abbey there were foundation estate and Pupiškiai with the village of Voroniai belonging to the Pašvitinys parish. The first church was made of wood. [...].