Sereikiškės Park is a public park in the city of Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

. It is located on the right bank of the Vilnia River

Vilnia River

Vilnia is a river in Lithuania. Its source is near the village of Vindžiūnai, 5 km south of Šumskas, at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border. The Vilnia is 79.6 km long and its basin covers 624 sq. km...

 between the Gediminas Tower

Gediminas Tower

Gediminas' Tower is the only remaining part of the Upper Castle in Vilnius, Lithuania.The first fortifications were built of wood by Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Gediminas. Later the first brick castle was completed in 1409 by Grand Duke Vytautas...

 and Bernardine Monastery. Most of its territory is parkland, including a children's amusement park. It hosts a variety of festivals and exhibitions, including an amateur chess championship of Ostap Bender

Ostap Bender

Ostap Bender is a fictional con man and antihero who first appeared in the novel The Twelve Chairs written by Soviet authors Ilya Ilf and Yevgeni Petrov and released in January 1928.-Appearances:...

.

At first the area was a swampy land surrounded on two sides by the Vilnia River. When the park was acquired by the Bernardines during the 18th century, the monks drained the territory and established a park, mainly used by their religious community. During the early 19th century, the order established a botanical garden there. It was closed in 1842 and later served as the personal garden of the Governor General and as a summering area for the local gentry. At the end of the 19th century it became a public space with an entertainment garden, theatre, open stage, and restaurant. Tennis courts and sporting grounds were added after World War I.