Europos Parkas

Europos Parkas was founded to mark a French institute's calculation that the geographic centre of Europe lies just north of Vilnius, and it fills a stretch of forest and meadow with large-scale contemporary sculpture from around the world. You walk wooded trails from one monumental artwork to the next.

History

Gintaras Karosas founded the park as a 19-year-old art student: in 1987 he found the site near Vilnius and began landscaping it, in 1991 he placed the first sculpture, and a work by the American conceptual artist Dennis Oppenheim in 1996 drew international interest (Wikipedia, Europos Parkas).

Highlights

• Monumental sculptures - large outdoor works set through forest and field.
• The centre of Europe theme - pieces marking the park's founding idea.
• The LNK Infotree - a famous sculpture built of hundreds of old television sets.
• The forest trails - the walking loops that link the art.

When to go

Warm months, when the outdoor art and trails are at their best; autumn adds colour to the woods. Allow a couple of hours to walk the loops.

Before you go

It is a walk-and-look sculpture park spread through forest, so you cover distance and the appeal depends on your taste for contemporary art. It is out of the city, needing a car or tour. The pieces vary from striking to slight, as such collections do.

Nearby

The actual surveyed centre of Europe is marked nearby; Vilnius is half an hour south.

Key facts