The city of Jena offers a combination of history, culture and nature. One of the city’s most characteristic buildings is the JenTower, a modern skyscraper that dominates the skyline of Jena. Visitors can take a lift to the top, from where they can admire breathtaking views of the city and the surrounding area. If you like historical buildings, be sure to visit the Gothic St. Michael’s Church from the 14th century. You can also see extraordinary cosmic phenomena at the nearby Planetarium Jenaer Zeiss.
Jena boasts one of the oldest universities in Germany, which is distinguished by its high level of research and education. Art lovers will find many attractions in Jena, where you will find numerous galleries and museums. . And an ideal place to relax from the hustle and bustle of the city is the nearby Saale River, where you can enjoy peaceful boat rides or scenic walks along the river banks. The surrounding Thuringian Forest invites you to hike, cycle and enjoy other activities.
Location
Jena is a city in the central German state of Thuringia (Thüringen). Situated on the Saale River.
JenTower
The JenTower due to 144.5 m (and 30 floors) , one of the tallest in the whole Eastern Germany and its history is connected Carl Zeiss, a famous and important maker of optical instruments.
The unique symbol of the City is clearly visible from afar. The building is not used solely as an office building. On one of the upper floors there is a hotel and a restaurant, as well as a viewing terrace from which there is a view of the entire city.
Jena Phyletisches Museum
The Phyletisches Museum is part of the Institute for Special Zoology and Evolutionary Biology of the University of Jena. It houses extensive zoological-palaeontological collections with over 500,000 pieces.
The history of the collection goes back to the 18th century. Original pieces from the time when Goethe was head of the anatomical-zoological collection can still be found today. The Phyletisches Museum has over 300 school classes and 20,000 visitors every year.
Deutsches Optisches Museum
German Optical Museum Jena: The foundation is expanding the existing museum with the “German Optical Museum” and thereby strengthening Jena’s position as a “city of light” and a center for optical technology. The new museum, located in a historic building in the city center, will continue Jena’s optical tradition.
St. Michael’s Church (Stadtkirche Sankt Michael)
St. Michael’s Church invites you to enjoy sightseeing in Jena with a historical touch and another stop on the city’s “Seven Wonders.” This late Gothic hall church, with its impressive façade and western tower, houses a Gothic stone pulpit, from which Martin Luther once preached, as well as the reformer’s original gravestone.
St. Johannes Baptist
The Church of St. John the Baptist (Pfarrkirche) is located on the outskirts of Jena’s city center, in the popular Wagnergasse. The church was built in the 9th century as an original parish outside the city of Jena and was originally a Romanesque hall church with a rectangular chancel and semicircular apse.
Romantikerhaus
The Romantikerhaus Jena, in the former home of the philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte, is today a literature museum on Jena’s early Romanticism.
The exhibition depicts the intellectual climate of those years (roughly from 1785 to 1800) in which early Romanticism flourished as a literary and philosophical movement. In their search for a new mythology, this group of writers, critics, translators, and scientists discovered an alternative way of life. Changing exhibitions and events complement the offerings.
Dornburger Schlösser – Rokoko-Schloss > Stiftung Thüringer Schlösser und Gärten
Rising amidst vineyards, on a shell limestone cliff above the Saale Valley, the Dornburg Palaces stand. The atmosphere of this unique palace complex prompted Goethe to return repeatedly.
Friedenstein Palace is one of the large residential palaces of the Thuringian Palaces and Gardens Foundation. It is part of Thuringia’s courtly cultural landscape. Its parks reflect garden art from the Baroque period to the 19th century.
Leuchtenburg
Leuchtenburg Castle towers 400 metres above the Saale River and is open to visitors daily. From a fortification to an administrative seat, from a prison and a so-called psychiatric hospital to a place of freedom and carefreeness – Leuchtenburg has had many different functions.
The museum itself was founded in 1906 by the Kahla Historical and Monument Society. In addition to these historical buildings, the vineyard offers the opportunity to commune with nature. Today, the museum premises house high-quality exhibitions on the history of the castle, the history of hunting in the region, a treasure trove of culinary treasures and other attractions. Particular emphasis is placed on the comprehensive exhibition of old Thuringian porcelain, which presents both unique pieces and the history of regional manufactures.
Jena Imaginata – a Experimentarium
Imaginata is an experimentarium for the senses – it fosters inventiveness, imagination, and creative thinking: surprising phenomena, activities, and experimental installations entice visitors to ponder, experiment, and explore. And above all – they are fun and thought-provoking.
GalaxSea Freizeitbad Jena
GalaxSea is a swimming, sauna, and wellness world for the whole family. With a large wave pool, two tube slides, a children’s play and swimming area, and much more, there’s plenty to discover at this water park. The unique 5-star premium sauna area at GalaxSea is an ideal place for relaxation and recuperation.
Zeiss Jena Planetarium
Zeiss Planetarium in Jena, Zeiss-Planetarium – the oldest continuously operating planetarium in the world. The dome is an iron-concrete structure made of almost 8,000 metal rods of different lengths. The inner diameter of the dome, which is the screen on which the stars are displayed, has a diameter of 23 meters. The planetarium was opened on July 18, 1926.
