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City in Germany
Photo: © R.Möhler, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Jena is a city in the central German state of Thuringia (Thüringen). With a population of 107,000, it is the state's second-largest city. It is a centre of science and technology with a reputable university, several research institutes and high-tech plants, especially focusing on precision mechanics and optical industries. About a fourth of the population are students.
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market square
Centre of the old town, surrounded by historical buildings. The townhall dates from the 14th century. Its astronomical art clock was added in the 15th century, with Schnapphans, a mechanically moved figure opening and closing his mouth every full hour, in the attempt to catch a Thuringian dumpling on a stick. Jena is said to be doomed if Schnapphans ever caught the dumpling.
Stadtmuseum—Museum of local history
Located in a historical building whose foundations date from the 13th century but was completely rebuilt in a Gothic revival style around 1900, then serving as a wine shop and wine bar. The museum illustrates the history of Jena from pre-history to the 19th century on four levels. The exhibits include a seven-headed "dragon" modelled from animal bones and papier-mâché by students in early 17th century that was considered one of the "Seven Wonders" of Jena.
Stadtkirche St. Michael
Main Protestant parish church of the city. There probably was a church at this location as early as in the 12th century. The present building was started around 1380 and is a late-Gothic hall church. The 75-metre-high octagonal tower is topped by a Renaissance-style crest. An architectural anomaly is the underpass below the church's sanctuary and altar that served as the only passage to the (long disbanded) Cistercian convent behind the church during medieval and early modern times and was considered one of the "Seven Wonders" of Jena.
Friedrich Schiller, one of the greatest classical German poets and playwrights lived in Jena from 1789 to 1799 with his wife Charlotte von Lengefeld, a native of nearby Rudolstadt. While Schiller's downtown home is lost, the garden house that he bought in 1797 to spend the Summers with his family outside the town (at that time) still exists. Some of Schiller's most notable works—the dramas "Wallenstein", "Mary Stuart" and "The Maid of Orleans" as well as several ballads—were created (at least in parts) in the study of this house. It now serves as a museum run by the Friedrich Schiller University with an exhibition dedicated to Schiller's years in Jena.
Protestant one-aisled church from the 14th to 15th century, actually dedicated to Our Lady (Mary) but renamed after Friedrich and Charlotte von Schiller who married here in 1790.
Anatomy Tower
Ruined round tower that used to be part of Jena's town fortification. The remaining base once supported an anatomical theatre (hence the name) where courses for medical students took place and Goethe (who was not just a writer but also a scientist) did research on the premaxillary bone of humans and elephants.
John's Tower
Gothic gate tower, another—much better preserved—part of the medieval fortifactions. It is linked with the nearby magazine (Pulverturm) by a reconstructed wall walk.
Botanischer Garten
Second-oldest and one of the most famous and most beautiful botanical gardens in Germany.
"house of the people"
Funded by the Carl Zeiss foundation and opened in 1903, it was one of Germany's first free educational and cultural venues targeting working-class people. Today, the imposing historicist building is still used for meetings, cultural events, educational presentations as well as being home to the Ernst Abbe library and the Jenaer Philharmonie orchestra.
Optical museum
Comprehensive exhibition illustrating the development of optical instruments and technology through the ages, focusing on the work of physicist Ernst Abbe and entrepreneurs Carl Zeiss and Otto Schott and their respective companies. English-language guides available by prior appointment (€40 for the whole group), audioguides in English, French, German, Italian and Japanese (€1 per person plus €5 deposit).
Nice park, especially in the summer a lot of students use this park for barbecue and hanging out with their friends.
formerly known as Intershop Tower
144.5-m-high office tower built in the early 1970s for the university and intended by the communist rulers to be a dominant part of the "socialist city". It was designed by Hermann Henselmann (architect of the Berlin television tower) to remind of an upright telescope (alluding to Jena's optical industries). It was renovated and modernised around 2000, receiving its characteristic glass façade. Main tenant of offices is the e-commerce developer Intershop. There is a restaurant on the highest floor and an observation platform on the top.
Napoleon stone
Memorial at the site of the Battle of Jena in 1806.
30-metre-high medieval donjon on top of the Hausberg hill.
Founded in 1926 using Carl Zeiss technology, it is one of the oldest projection planetariums in the world. There are educational programmes, entertaining programmes for families, music shows and film screenings.
Municipal theatre, staging dramas, musical and dance theatre.
Jena philharmonic orchestra
Classical orchestra that cooperates with a philharmonic choir, boys choir and madrigal choir. Their concerts usually take place at the Volkshaus.
Ensemble of three chateaux on a hilltop over the Saale river. The prominent position "watching" over the Saale valley has been used for castles since the 9th century (Carolingian Era). The present chateaux are late-medieval (mid-15th century), Renaissance (mid-16th century) and Rococo (mid-18th century), respectively. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe lived on the Renaissance one (that was in the possession of his friend, Grand Duke Carl August of Saxe-Weimar) for a few weeks in Summer 1828, writing his "Dornburg poems". Each of the chateaux is surrounded by gardens: An English-style landscape garden around the Renaissance one, ash and rose pergolas in front of the Rococo one, an orchard at the oldest one, and a vineyard on the rock below the castles. The Dornburg rose festival is celebrated in late June, the Dornburger Schlössernacht (night of the castles) in August of each year.
A very pleasant place with student atmosphere.
Vietnamese cuisine. Dishes are prepared in the open show kitchen.
Known to be among the best restaurants in Jena.
An atmospheric cafe.
A lively pub which also serves food.
Beer brewed in Jena.
youth hostel
In a historical vintner's house in the heart of old town.
Small, family-owned hotel (22 rooms) in a historic (yet modernised) building in the heart of old town.
Modern four-star hotel in a suburb 6.5 km south of the city centre (25 minutes tram ride). American 1930s to 50s-styled interior design. 220 rooms. Free tickets for public transport.
Big four-star hotel (140 rooms) located in an outer wing of the Goethe Galerie shopping mall in the city centre (500 m from market, 150 m from optical museum, 600 m from Paradies station)
Small hotel on the 27th floor of JenTower (claiming to be Germany's second-tallest hotel). Cool and modernist interior design.
One of the largest shopping malls in Jena.
Large shopping mall.
By train
Jena is served by two main railway stations, located about a 10-minute walk (800 m) apart.
By car
Jena is not far from the Hermsdorfer Kreuz where the A9 (E49/E51) from Berlin to Munich and the A4 (E40) from Frankfurt to Dresden cross.
By bus
The primary operator for long-distance buses is FlixBus, which connects Jena to numerous domestic and international destinations.5 hr).
Jena is a compact city, and most major sights, university buildings, and shops in the city centre are easily accessible by foot.
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