- Place
- Panevėžys District Municipality
- Region
- Aukštaitija
- Type
- wooden viewpoint on the remains of a reinforced-concrete bridge destroyed during the Second World War
- Address
- Kazokai village, Krekenava eldership, Panevėžys District
- Coordinates
- 55.44959, 24.04553
- Visit duration
- 30-60 minutes; 1.5-2 hours with a longer walk in the Nevėžis Valley
- Best time
- from late spring to autumn in daylight; the approach can be slippery after heavy rain
Kazokai Bridge Ruins, Surviliškis-Kazokai Bridge, Kazokai Village Viewpoint
What you see beside the Nevėžis
Approaching the river from Kazokai village, you first encounter the massive reinforced-concrete abutment of the former bridge. A small wooden platform with cross-braced railings and an open shelter now stands on it. This is not a tall tower: the viewpoint places you at roughly the former road-deck level and looks lengthwise along the Nevėžis channel.
The Nevėžis flows below, while fragments of the demolished structure remain in the channel and beside the banks. The State Service for Protected Areas notes how visibly the current bends around the submerged concrete. Water level, vegetation, and light affect how much can be seen, so the ruins are usually clearer in a dry summer than after a rainy period.
The 1932 Surviliškis-Kazokai bridge
Built in 1932 for road traffic, this was a single-span reinforced-concrete arch measuring 57.6 metres long and 6 metres wide. The official protected-areas description gives its construction cost as 54,200 interwar Lithuanian litas.
The structure linked Kazokai on one bank of the Nevėžis with Surviliškis on the other. The river now also forms the boundary between Panevėžys and Kėdainiai districts here, making the broken bridge a particularly clear reminder of the single engineering connection that once joined today's two municipalities.
Pranas Markūnas's engineering legacy
The bridge was designed by engineer Pranas Markūnas, whose first name also appears in its longer form, Pranciškus, in the attraction description. The Encyclopedia of Lithuania identifies him as one of the pioneers of reinforced-concrete design and construction in Lithuania.
His projects included numerous bridges across the Šventoji, Nevėžis, Šešupė, Minija, Nemunas, and Mūša, as well as structural work for industrial and religious buildings. The Kazokai remains therefore tell more than a local transport story: they represent interwar Lithuania's effort to build a modern road network with new reinforced-concrete technology.
Destruction and a new purpose as a viewpoint
The official protected-areas description says that the bridge was blown up during the Second World War. It does not name the exact date or the military force responsible, so neither should be guessed. Its abutments, pieces of concrete in the river, and traces of the old approaches survived.
Instead of restoring the road connection, the site received a modest interpretive intervention: a viewpoint was built on the Kazokai-side fragment. It allows visitors to grasp the former bridge's scale without crossing the river and turns infrastructure broken by war into a stop devoted to landscape and engineering history.
Approach, safety, and route planning
The State Service for Protected Areas directs visitors through Kazokai village, down a small road into the Nevėžis Valley, and then straight through the pine wood. The exact Google Maps listing marks the platform itself rather than the centre of Surviliškis. Allow 30-60 minutes and wear footwear with grip in wet conditions.
The attraction is officially described as unsuitable for people with mobility impairments. Do not climb onto unfenced ruins, wade towards the concrete in the channel, or damage the riverbanks. Google Maps showed 4.6 out of 5 from 72 reviews on 27 July 2026; ratings and review counts change over time.
