Tourist Attractions in Jena, Germany

Southwest of the Markt can be found the Collegium Jenense, originally a Dominican monastery, which housed the "First University" of Jena for some three hundred years until its move to the Goetheallee. An interesting feature is the students' prison (Karzer), with inscriptions and drawings by the students confined there. Among those who taught here were the philosophers Hegel, Fichte and Schelling.

Conspicuously situated above Jena, the Leuchtenburg houses a Heimatmuseum (history of hunting, etc.) and a youth hostel.
The vast complex includes a 12th C keep, 16th C gun towers and a manor house built in 1744.

In Carl-Zeiss-Platz, in the southwest of Jena, is the Optical Museum (1965), with some 12,000 exhibits, including high precision optical apparatus. A particular attraction is the multi-spectral camera MKF 6, which has made a valuable contribution to space research.

Beside the Red Tower (Ernst-Thälmann-Ring 10) in Jena stands the Romantiker-Haus, once the home of the philosopher J. G. Fichte and now a museum of the early Romantic period in Germany (centered particularly on the Jena group of Romantics, including the young Schelling, the Schlegel brothers, Tieck and Novalis). On the upper floors of the building are the art collections of the Municipal Museum (art of the 15th-20th C.).

A little way north of the Goethe-Gedenkstätte in Jena is the famous Zeiss Planetarium (a domed building of 1926, now scheduled as a historic monument). Renovated and modernized in 1983-85, the Planetarium is equipped with the latest technology, including a computer-controlled projection system.
It contains a jenoptik ZGP which was installed in 1985. Its dome measures 23 meters.

The 1806 Memorial is a historic site, remembered as the place where Napolean defeated the Prussians in the Battle of Jena.

At Cospeda, 4km/2.5mi northwest of Jena, can be found a museum commemorating the battle of Jena and Auerstedt (1806), with a diorama of the battle, weapons and uniforms.

The main building of the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, situated at Goetheallee 1, on the site of the old ducal castle, is protected as a historic monument. Built between 1905 and 1908, it has a richly decorated interior. In the Aula (Great Hall) can be seen a well-known picture by Ferdinand Hodler depicting the students of Jena setting out for war in 1813. In the lobbies are portraits of scholars who taught at the university.

On a hill above the Ziegenhain district in Jena is the Fuchsturm, a relic of one of the three castles which once stood on the hill.

Hummelshain, 7km/4.5mi southeast of Kahla, was once a hunting preserve of the Dukes of Altenburg. The Rieseneck hunting and stalking ground (17th-18th C.) is one of the largest surviving establishments of its kind.

There are fine views from the Jenzig, the "Rigi of Jena".

Kahla (16km/10mi south of Jena on B 88) has preserved its old fortifications. On the southwest side of the town is a double ring of walls.

The best view of Jena and the Saale valley is to be had from a hill outside the town, the Landgrafen (outlook tower).

At Berggasse 7 in Jena can be found the Ernst Haeckel House (museum) and at the Neutor (No. 1) the Phyletic Museum (Museum of Races). At Kahlaische Strasse 1 is the Hilprecht Collection (cuneiform tablets; the world's oldest town plan).

In Charlottenstrasse in Jena-Ost, beyond the Saale, stands the Schillerkirche, originally the church of the village of Wenigenjena, in which Schiller (playwright and scholar) married Charlotte von Lengefeld in 1790.

At Schillergässchen 2 in Jena is the Schiller-Gedenkstätte, a house occupied by Schiller while teaching at the University. Here he worked on his plays "Wallensteins Lager" ("Wallenstein's Camp") and "Maria Stuart" and completed the "Jungfrau von Orleans" ("Maid of Orleans").

To the north of the Markt stands the Stadtkirche of St Michael, which was Jena's most prominent landmark until the building of the university's high-rise block. Restored after suffering war damage, it shows influences from Bohemia, Upper Silesia and South Germany in its architecture. Notable features of the interior are the figure of St Michael (one of the oldest pieces of sculpture in wood in Thuringia) and the bronze relief of Martin Luther, originally destined for his tomb in Wittenberg.

There are a number of remains of Jena's old fortifications, notably the Pulverturm (Powder Tower), the Johannistor (St John's Gate) and the Anatomieturm (Anatomy Tower).

Jena's most prominent landmark is the University Tower (1972), 120 m/395ft high. On the 26th floor is a cafe. From the top there is a magnificent panoramic view of the town.