Kaunas Reservoir Regional Park

About

Kauno Marios Regional Park was established in 1992 with the purpose to protect the unique lower landscape of Kaunas Reservoir, its natural ecosystem, and cultural heritage. It covers a total area of 101.73 km² (water - 51.45 km², forests - 38.78 km²) and is one of the 30 regional parks in 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 (Lithuanian: Nemunas) (what local people now call fiords).

The shallower edges of the reservoir are becoming swampy and attract almost all known species of water birds in Lithuania. Old pine forests at Rumšiškės and Dabinta are rich in plant and animal diversity. Here lives one of the biggest population of edible dormice.

Besides the reservoir itself, the area includes Arlaviškis botanical reserve famous for its juniper valley, Girionys Park, a landscape park established on the bank of Kaunas Reservoir, in the eastern edge of Kaunas. 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...