Ąžuolynas (literally, "Oak Grove") is a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

in Lithuania's second largest city, Kaunas, in the

Žaliakalnis Žaliakalnis (literally, "the green hill") is an elderate in Lithuania's second largest city, Kaunas. Žaliakalnis is located north of the old town and the city center area, between the Neris and Girstupis valleys. It is one of the largest reside ...

elderate A ''seniūnija'' (in English: eldership, elderate, ward, parish, or subdistrict) is the smallest Subdivisions of Lithuania, administrative division of Lithuania. An eldership may comprise a very small region consisting of few villages, one ...

. The park covers about 84

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s and is the largest urban stand of mature oaks in Europe. Vydūnas Alley serves as the park's northern border. It is a popular recreational destination for the inhabitants of Kaunas. Most of its trees are

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

s ranging in age from 100 to 320 years old, but it also holds linden,

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

, and

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

trees. The current park is what remains of a much larger oak forest that grew around the city, and was connected to the forests in

Karmėlava Karmėlava is a small town in Kaunas County in central Lithuania. In 2011 it had a population of 1,395. The town of Karmėlava is located north east of Kaunas and near the second-busiest civil airport in Lithuania, Kaunas International Airpor ...

Rumšiškės Rumšiškės is a Lithuanian town (population 1,700), situated east of Kaunas on the northern bank of Kaunas Reservoir. Southern part of the town (including the birthplace of Lithuanian poet Jonas Aistis) is now under the waters of the artifici ...

and

Kaišiadorys Kaišiadorys () is a city in central Lithuania. It is situated between Vilnius and Kaunas. Kaišiadorys is one of six Lithuanian diocese centres. It is home to the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Christ built in 1932. The Lithuanian Veterinar ...

. Those forests were cut down during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, and the timber was used in city buildings, bridges, castles, and ships. The section of the forest between Kaunas and

Garliava Garliava (), is a city in Lithuania, considered a suburb of Kaunas. Garliava is located south from the center of Kaunas and has a territory of 3,65 km2. In 1809 Józef Godlewski built a Holy Trinity church and named it ''Godlewo'' in h ...

was cut down in the 19th century. A valley in the park is named for the poet

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...

, who rested there during his days as a teacher in Kaunas schools. In 1938

Tadas Ivanauskas Tadas Ivanauskas (December 16, 1882 – June 1, 1970) was a Lithuanian zoologist and biologist, and one of the founders of Vytautas Magnus University. Biography He was born in Lebiodka Manor (today in Belarus) as a third child of Leonard Iwanowsk ...

established the

Kaunas Zoo Lithuanian Zoological Garden ( lt, Lietuvos zoologijos sodas) previously known as Kaunas' Zoological Garden (''Kauno zoologijos sodas'') is the oldest scientific zoo in Lithuania. It is located in an Ąžuolynas oak grove park in the south-western ...

in the northern corner of the park. A year later

Kaunas Sports Hall Kaunas Sports Hall ( lt, Kauno sporto halė), also known as the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Hall is the second largest arena of Kaunas, Lithuania. It is the first arena built in the residential Žaliakalnis neighbourhood of Kaunas specially for ...

, which hosted

Eurobasket 1939 The 1939 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1939, was the third FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA. Eight national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) took par ...

, was established near Ąžuolynas. The park's infrastructure was reconstructed in 1955; in 1966 the Valley of Songs ( lt, Dainų slėnis) was installed. The park is used extensively for sports activities of students of the Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education located nearby. A section of Ąžuolynas, Vytautas Park, contains a number of recreational attractions for children.

References

Rekreacijos formos ir jų poveikis aplinkai Kauno miesto Centriniame ąžuolyno parke
''Žaliasis pasaulis'', 2007. Parks in Kaunas {{KaunasCounty-geo-stub