Jena – Welcome to Paradise

The large city to the south-east of Weimarer Land

Jena, they say, is the richest city in the East. Rich in landscape and big-city feeling is probably best meant.

The picturesque shell limestone cliffs and the river Saale on the one hand, and the city with its famous university, research centres and the young bustle everywhere in the city on the other, have already persuaded some who have moved away to return. Basically, much of what there is to explore in Jena is just around the corner and thus easy to reach on foot. Of course, you can also see everything from above from the JenTower:

the Zeiss-Planetarium
the Botanical Garden
the Schiller House
das Phyletische Museum

If you get involved in the multifaceted history of the city, it can take a while. For the intellectual world of Jena is so exciting, even captivating. A guided tour of the city or an excursion on the SaaleHorizontale, which leads around the city with a high-altitude view of the surrounding area, could be an introduction. But beware, the saying among Jena residents is: “Either you just drive by, or you let yourself in and stay forever.”

JenTower – „biscuit roll“ with viewing plattform

With a height of 159 m and a mirror facade, the JenTower shapes the cityscape like no other building. On a viewing platform of the jokingly named biscuit roll at a height of 128 m you can enjoy the magnificent view over the city and the Jena shell limestone rocks.

Zeiss-Planetarium Jena

The world’s longest-serving projection planetarium shows fantastic educational and entertainment programmes for all those who like to look upwards, thanks to state-of-the-art laser full-dome projection. In the cosy armchair under the dome, you can calmly and serenely lose your footing, accompanied by 3D worlds and animations. More than 9,000 stars can be observed under the 25-metre planetarium dome.

German Optical Museum

This is a centre of optics. The museum tells a modern and vivid story about light and how it can be captured. The starting point of this tradition is the historic Zeiss workshop from 1866, which offers a glimpse of optical instruments from the past to the most modern equipment used in space exploration today. Currently, the museum is being given a new lease of life. The reopening is planned for 2023. We are excited.

Phyletic Museum Jena

The museum, founded by Ernst Haeckel in 1907, deals with the phylogeny of animals and humans in all its facets through permanent and special exhibitions. The special exhibitions are devoted to current topics related to evolution, but also to aesthetic and artistic or socially relevant themes. It is also a natural history research museum, with a collection of over 500,000 specimens, such as:

extinct animals
fossils
insects
many species of birds and mammals

City Museum & Art Collection of the City of Jena

The Jena City Museum is housed in a late Gothic building on the north side of the market square. A variety of exhibitions show the facets of Jena’s city history.

The Jena Art Collection has a considerable stock of about 8000 works, especially from the 20th century, which are selectively included in the exhibition programme. The special exhibitions on classical modern art and contemporary art repeatedly prove to be crowd pullers.

City wall ensemble with Johannistor and Powder Tower

The medieval city wall ensemble with the two distinctive towers Johannistor and Pulverturm is still an impressive testimony to the city’s historical fortifications.

At that time it consisted of 12 m high and 2 km long walls with battlements, ditches, gates and flanking towers. A view of the city centre and Jena’s picturesque surroundings from the towers is well worth it!

Further information at www.visit-jena.de

Events at www.jena-veranstaltungen.de

Jena Tourist-Information
Informationen, Tickets, Souvenirs

Markt 16
07743 Jena

Tel.: +49 3641 498050