- Place
- Kaunas City Municipality
- Region
- Kaunas
- Type
- 15-hectare urban park with a fountain basin, landscaped mounds, and separate sports areas
- Address
- Taikos pr. 87B, between Taikos Avenue, V. Krėvės Avenue, and Kovo 11-osios Street, Kaunas
- Coordinates
- 54.91596, 23.96990
- Visit duration
- 1-2 hours for a walk and the fountain area; 2-3 hours when using sports or children's spaces
- Best time
- a warm spring or summer evening, when the seasonal fountain is most likely to operate; check its status before travelling
Draugystė Park, Tautų draugystės parkas
Three busy Kaunas streets define the 15-hectare site
Draugystė Park occupies a large block between Taikos Avenue, V. Krėvės Avenue, and Kovo 11-osios Street. Kaunas City gives its area as 15 hectares, so it is much more than the fountain square or a narrow strip beside apartment buildings. The coordinate 54.9159578, 23.9699007 marks a representative point inside the grounds, not the only entrance or a car park.
Each edge provides a different approach, and the path network can be used either to cross the park or create a longer loop. The official address Taikos pr. 87B is a useful reference on the Taikos Avenue side, but pedestrians can also enter from the other surrounding streets. Navigation may therefore choose a different starting point from the one you expected.
On 2026-07-21, a publicly viewable copy of the exact Draugystės Park Google Maps listing, place ID ChIJ62dhRV4Y50YRAwsPr-I1wvo, showed 4.6 out of 5 from 3,913 reviews and stated 24-hour opening. Ratings, review counts, and published hours change, so this is a dated check rather than a permanent record.
The large fountain basin is a landmark, not a bathing pool
The clearest identifying feature is the large fountain basin revived during the reconstruction. It is a long, shallow, geometrically arranged water space with vertical jets and concrete elements rather than a natural pond. A broad paved promenade, grass slope, and background of mature trees make this part of the park immediately recognisable.
In 2019, the municipality described it as a dancing fountain installed in an enormous basin. The sequence of jets is best watched from several points along the path, but operation follows the municipal fountain season and depends on weather and maintenance. In autumn, winter, or during repairs, the basin may look entirely different from summer photographs.
This is not an officially supervised bathing facility. Entering the water, allowing children to run on wet concrete elements, or trying to step through active jets is unsafe. Treat the fountain as the landscape and engineering centre of the park, and choose a designated facility for children's water play.
The 1972-1973 beginnings are linked to two named designers
The Ąžuolynas Library chronology states that work on what was then Tautų draugystės parkas began in 1972. Engineer Alvydas Steponavičius and dendrologist Raimonda Augustienė prepared the design. Their authorship matters because the park was conceived as a planned green system for a residential district, not merely as a plot that happened to escape development.
A 2017 Kaunas City reconstruction notice says that the park was founded in 1973. The two dates need not be treated as an error: 1972 describes the start of formation, while the municipal text uses 1973 as the foundation year. The sources reviewed do not provide a single ceremonial opening date, so retaining both formulations is more accurate than forcing one date.
The historical name Tautų draugystės parkas still appears in city-history sources, while present maps and municipal reports use the shorter Draugystės parkas. They are not separate places. The change in naming explains why older searches may return a different heading.
The 2017-2019 renewal turned the grounds into a network of sports areas
When the project was developed in 2016, residents were asked which activities the park needed most. Repeated suggestions included running, cycling, skating, children's play, basketball, beach volleyball, outdoor exercise, chess, and dog walking. The plan also covered renewal of the water feature and fountain, lighting, street furniture, and planting.
Construction began in 2017 with stormwater drainage work. The Ąžuolynas Library summarises the renewal as a 2018-2019 reconstruction, while the municipality held the reopening weekend on 17-18 August 2019. In other words, 2017 marks the start of works and 2019 the return of the completed park to visitors.
The opening report confirms a new lighting system throughout the grounds, new children's and sports areas, walking, cycling, and skating paths, and dedicated running routes. It also lists outdoor chess and draughts, table tennis, basketball, pétanque, and extreme-sports spaces, together with benches, timber loungers, and spacious shelters. Equipment and condition can change over time, so use only facilities that are open and undamaged.
Retained mounds soften the transition from active park to traffic
The reconstruction retained the low artificial mounds already popular with local residents. Official project discussion described them both as noise-buffering landforms and as places for winter sledging. They prevent Draugystė from becoming a completely flat matrix of sports grounds: open lawns rise into slopes before giving way to groups of trees and quieter pockets.
Mounds, planting, and the separation of activities create some distance from the three busy roads, although traffic noise does not disappear along the edges. For a quieter pause, move farther into the park near mature trees; for faster running or skating, use the designated surfaces. Walkers, cyclists, and skaters share some connections, so speed should always reflect the people nearby.
Sledging is sensible only with adequate snow and after checking the foot of the slope for people and obstacles. These are not managed ski runs with protective barriers. In summer, the lawns suit informal rest, but events or maintenance can temporarily occupy part of the open space.
Admission is free, but lighting does not make every area equally convenient at night
Draugystė Park is a public outdoor space without a ticket office or controlled gate. The Google Maps listing stated 24-hour access on the date checked, but the fountain, toilets, temporary services, sports events, and individual grounds may follow different schedules. Check current Kaunas City information before travelling for a particular installation or event.
Principal reconstructed paths and plazas have hard surfaces, so the basic route is generally more practical for a pushchair or wheelchair than natural ground. No public access audit covering the whole park was found. Slopes beside the mounds, temporary works, wet surfaces near the fountain, and equipment within individual areas may still limit a chosen route.
Drivers should observe signs on the surrounding streets and never assume that apartment or retail car parks are automatically intended for park visitors. Public transport, cycling, or walking makes it possible to enter from one road and leave from another. Daylight is the easiest choice for a first visit even though lighting was installed in the principal areas.
