- Place
- Kaunas City Municipality
- Region
- Kaunas
- Type
- 13.5-hectare urban park at the meeting of the Nemunas and Neris in Kaunas Old Town
- Address
- access from 17 Pilies Street, Kaunas Old Town
- Coordinates
- 54.89806, 23.87961
- Visit duration
- 1-2 hours for the confluence point, paths, and park features; 2-3 hours when combined with Kaunas Castle or the Old Town
- Best time
- a dry morning or evening when both riverbanks are easy to see; check event restrictions before visiting during a city festival
Santakos Park, Kaunas Confluence Park, Confluence of the Nemunas and Neris
The 13.5-hectare park is much larger than the exact river meeting point
Kaunas City's 2024 project document gives the precise park plot area as 13.5234 hectares. It stretches from Kaunas Castle, St George's Church, and Papilio Street to the western tip of the peninsula, while its southern edge continues along the Nemunas toward Vytautas the Great Church. A main path built on an embankment links these two approaches in a broad semicircle.
The coordinate 54.8980556, 23.8796058 is a representative point within this extensive park, not a gate, car park, or single best viewpoint. The Google Maps address, 17 Pilies Street, coincides with the Kaunas Castle approach, so navigation may initially lead to the castle. Reaching the actual meeting of the waters still requires a walk west along the main path.
On 2026-07-21, the listing named Nemunas and Neris Confluence Park, place ID ChIJ_2_N-gQi50YRsc1pfXBX-uk, showed 4.7 out of 5 from 10,169 Google reviews. Both figures will change. The waterside confluence also has a separate Google listing, so do not transfer one place's reviews to the other when planning the route.
The Neris ends its 510-kilometre journey here and becomes part of the Nemunas
The Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia identifies the Neris as the largest right tributary of the Nemunas. It is 510 kilometres long in total, with 237.8 kilometres in Lithuania, and enters the Nemunas in Kaunas beside the castle, 208 kilometres from the Nemunas mouth. At Kaunas, the Neris is stated to be roughly 180-290 metres wide and 1-3 metres deep, but these general dimensions are not a guarantee of safety or navigation conditions on a particular day.
The Nemunas is Lithuania's largest river. VLE gives a total length of 937 kilometres, including 476.9 kilometres flowing through Lithuania. At the confluence, the Neris does not continue west as a parallel river but enters the Nemunas channel. The peninsula tip explains the geography most clearly: the Neris lies to the north, the Nemunas to the south, and their combined flow continues west.
The boundary between the two waters does not always appear as a sharp coloured line. Clarity, colour, and visible shallows change with rainfall, discharge, suspended sediment, and season. Appreciate the junction and the shape of the peninsula rather than expecting a permanent visual effect that may be absent on the day.
A natural part of the protected Old Town also holds the memory of two papal visits
Confluence Park lies within the state-protected Kaunas Old Town, unique Cultural Heritage Register code 20171. Its evaluation record treats the level confluence valley, riverbank lines, and this natural green area as valuable features of the Old Town. The park boundary was approved in 1993, which does not imply that the confluence or the city's earlier use of these meadows began only then.
Papal Hill in the park's eastern part marks a specific twentieth-century event. Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass on the embankment on 6 September 1993, and a monument to him by Polish sculptor Czesław Dźwigaj was unveiled in the park on 4 June 2011. Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the same Confluence Park area on 23 September 2018.
Papal Hill, the monument, Kaunas Castle, and St George's Church are features along the route rather than synonyms for the whole park. Popular accounts also connect the meadow with an ancient sanctuary or a temple of Milda, but these are presented as legends rather than established archaeological facts. This guide deliberately separates documented Old Town and papal history from folklore.
The 2022 renewal brought together quiet paths, sport, and lawns for major events
The park formally reopened on 15 May 2022 after work across 13.5 hectares. The municipality listed renewed pavements, LED lighting, and a new cycle route past Papal Hill. Irrigation and running tracks at the stadium were improved, and the park gained basketball courts, children's spaces, benches, waste bins, and other small-scale amenities.
Steps and approaches to the Old Pier, also called the Daugirdas Amphitheatre, were renewed with the park. A viewing area was formed beside the Nemunas and part of the authentic stone paving was relaid. The amphitheatre is beside the park on the Nemunas embankment, not at the confluence tip, so the shortest route to the meeting of the rivers does not necessarily pass it.
A 2024 project record documented the modern rubber-surfaced playground between Santakos Street and the stadium and planned replacement of the worn play area beside the castle. Because work and equipment condition can change, use only open, unfenced, undamaged facilities. The lawns support picnics, temporary sports pitches, and city festivals, so their function can change on event days.
Walking is the simplest way to arrive, while events can temporarily redirect the route
Pedestrians can enter from Kaunas Castle and Papilio Street or approach from Town Hall Square by Santakos Street and Prieplaukos Embankment. The 2024 document mentions parking beside the castle, St George's Church, Daugirdas Street, and Prieplaukos Embankment, but this is not a promise of free or permanently available spaces. Check the current zone, fee, and traffic restrictions on the day.
The public outdoor park has no separate admission ticket or staffed gate, and its Google Maps listing showed 24-hour opening on 2026-07-21. This does not mean that every sports facility, toilet, seasonal drinking fountain, or controlled event area operates throughout the night. The main routes are lit, but daylight remains the best time for an interpretive visit.
The stadium, lawns, Nemunas bank, and amphitheatre host concerts, sporting events, religious services, and city celebrations. Fencing, stage installation, vendors, or participant flows can temporarily close part of a path and alter cycle movement. Check Kaunas City's approved-events calendar before a weekend visit and follow signs on site.
Hard-surfaced paths help access, but the riverbanks are neither uniformly adapted nor safe
The principal route is asphalt, while renewed pavements and sports surfaces are smoother than the natural banks, making the basic circuit suitable for many wheelchairs and pushchairs. Natural riverside paths, stone paving, grass, embankment slopes, and the confluence tip are not equally level. No detailed public accessibility audit for the complete park was found, so visitors with specific requirements should confirm them with the municipality.
The Nemunas and Neris banks do not have continuous barriers. The Neris is already broad and deep at Kaunas, and currents where two large rivers meet can be difficult to judge from land. The official sources reviewed do not identify Confluence Park as a supervised beach or bathing place, so do not plan to swim here and supervise children and pets closely beside the water.
After heavy rain or higher river levels, lower bank paths can become wet, muddy, or inaccessible. Stadium drainage in the reconstruction was specifically intended to protect the running tracks from inundation. Do not bypass a puddle or barrier on the water side, climb on slippery embankment stones, or walk onto ice; the principal embankment path is the safer alternative.
