Kauno Marios Regional Park was established in 1992 with the purpose to protect the unique lower landscape of

Kaunas Reservoir Kaunas Reservoir ( lt, Kauno marios, Kaunas Lagoon, Kaunas Sea) is the largest Lithuanian artificial lake, created in 1959 by damming the Nemunas River near Kaunas and Rumšiškės. It occupies 63.5 square kilometers, which is about 0.1% of the to ...

, its natural ecosystem, and cultural heritage. It covers the total of 101.73 km² (water - 51.45 km², forests - 38.78 km²) and is one of the 30 regional parks in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. The man-made Kaunas Reservoir altered the local landscape and now one can see newly formed exposures, altered mouths of tributaries to the

Neman River The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...

( lt, Nemunas) (what local people now call

fiord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...

s). The shallower edges of the reservoir are becoming swampy and attract almost all known species of water birds in Lithuania. Old

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s at Rumšiškės and Dabinta are rich in

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

and

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

diversity. Here lives one of the biggest population of edible dormice. Besides the reservoir itself, there are other features made by man. They include Arlaviškis botanical reserve famous for its

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

valley, Girionys Park, a landscape park established on the bank of Kaunas Reservoir, in the eastern edge of

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

. It is the biggest park by area and the richest by its number of tree species in Lithuania. The total area of the park together with the village Girionys is 130 ha. Trees in the park have been planted to commemorate the considerable events and famous foresters as well. Since 1963 a tradition among Kaunas Forestry college graduates has been established: every year students plant the oak in this grove. The eastern part of the park leans to Raguoliai pine stand. This forest (81 ha) and protective plantings of Kaunas Reservoir slopes (39 ha) are managed as forest park, so today the total area of the park reaches 250 ha. Cultural heritage objects include

Pažaislis monastery Pažaislis is a neighborhood ("territory") of Kaunas, Lithuania, within its Petrašiūnai eldership. It includes the Pažaislis Monastery. History The name Pažaislis is Lithuanization of Polish name , literally meaning "by Zajście", i.e. locat ...

, a 17th-century

baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

masterpiece which hosts an annual

Pažaislis Music Festival Pažaislis is a neighborhood ("territory") of Kaunas, Lithuania, within its Petrašiūnai eldership. It includes the Pažaislis Monastery. History The name Pažaislis is Lithuanization of Polish name , literally meaning "by Zajście", i.e. lo ...

, open-air museum in

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 ...

covering 175 ha,

Salomėja Nėris Salomėja Bačinskaitė-Bučienė, mostly known by her pen name Nėris (; 17 November 1904 – 7 July 1945) was a Lithuanian poet. Biography Salomėja was born in Kiršai, Suwałki Governorate (current district of Vilkaviškis). She graduated ...

museum in

Palemonas The Palemonids were a legendary dynasty of Grand Dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The legend was born in the 15th or 16th century as proof that Lithuanians and the Grand Duchy are of Roman origins. Already Jan Długosz (1415–1480) wrote ...

which hosts annual Poetry Spring. There are also more than 20 historical and archeological monuments. Pakalniškiai, Vieškūnai, Lašiniai, Samylai, Dovainoniai

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

s and Dovainoniai/Kapitoniškiai, Maisiejūnai/Surgantiškiai

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

ses are located in the park.

Gallery

Image:Kauno marios 2006-06-30.jpg, Kauno marios reservoir Image:Pažaislio ansamblis.Ensemble of Pažaislis.jpg,

in the Kauno Marios Regional Park Image:Lithuania Rumszyszki 1.jpg, Ethnographic museum in Rumšiškės

References

Kauno marios regional park
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Kauno marių regioninis parkas
Info.lt. Accessed July 9, 2006. {{Authority control Regional parks of Lithuania Tourist attractions in Kaunas