Many personalities such as Friedrich Schiller, Carl Zeiss, Novalis, Ernst Abbe, Johann Gottlieb Fichte and August Schott are associated with the second largest city in Thuringia (110,000 inhabitants). Jena, picturesquely situated on the Saale river, has a lot of interesting things to see and do in a small area. Join me on a tour that will take you to the most important sights in Jena!
Market square with town hall and Hanfried
Let’s start our tour in the center of Jena at the market square. The square is lined with beautiful buildings, the most magnificent being the Historic Town Hall from the 15th century. Every hour on the hour, a bird, the “Schnapphans”, part of an astronomical art clock, snaps at a golden ball. Until today, as far as is known, however, in vain.
On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, the “Green Market” takes place on the market square with a wide range of vegetables, fruit, cheese and sausage and meat products, viewed benevolently by a – let’s say – handsome older gentleman. He is the founder of the university, the Elector and Duke JoHANn FRIEDrich I of Saxony, also known as the Magnanimous. The locals affectionately call him “Hanfried”. Incidentally, you will also find Jena’s tourist information office on the market square.
City Museum
On the north side of the market square stands a stately building whose roots go back to the 13th century. The building is called the “Göhre” (not a spelling mistake, this was the name of a former owner). It houses the Jena City Museum with interesting exhibits on the city’s history.
In the basement, you will find old writings, a model of the city, a depiction of a Pieta, crucifixes, a so-called “punishment stone” and much more from Jena’s medieval history. On the second floor, interesting facts about the history of the university, the fire of 1806, the effects of the Napoleonic Wars on the city and the Wartburg Festival are explained.
The third floor is dedicated to Jena’s dawn of modernity and includes information on porcelain production and publishing in Jena, the trade union movement and, of course, about Zeiss, Schott and Abbe.
Romantic house
From the market square you can now turn into the street “Unterm Markt”. Almost at the end of the road, turn right through a passageway. The so-called “Romantikerhaus” is located in a backyard there. It is a literary museum that was set up in the former home of the philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte.
The museum focuses on the literary epoch of early Romanticism, a movement that originated in Jena and included such well-known personalities as Clemens Brentano, Novalis, the Schlegel brothers, Wilhelm Tieck and the philosopher Schelling, whose thoughts the museum provides an interesting insight into. In addition, two rooms on the second floor are reserved for temporary special exhibitions.
St. Michael’s Church
Via Unterlauengasse, you reach Saalstraße and the imposing building of St. Michael’s Church. Its construction began at the end of the 14th century. Today, it is one of the largest hall churches in Thuringia. In the church you will also find a tombstone for Martin Luther, who preached here. The tombstone was originally intended to be laid in the castle church in Wittenberg, but remained here in Jena as a result of the Schmalkaldic War.
If you want, you can climb the 75-meter tower and enjoy the view from there, but honestly, the view from the Jentower is much more spectacular – and there’s an elevator there.
University
To the north of Kirchplatz, Weigelstraße branches off and leads to Fürstengraben: You are already in front of the university. The university in Jena was founded in 1558. At that time, Elector John Frederick of Saxony had lost out to Charles V in the Schmalkaldic War and lost the electoral dignity and with it the University of Wittenberg. So what to do? Found a new university! The university subsequently enjoyed an excellent reputation, with Fichte, Schelling, Hegel and Haeckel teaching here, and its students included Novalis, Hölderlin, Brentano, Marx and the optician triumvirate of Abbe, Schott and Zeiß.
And, of course, Friedrich Schiller began his professorial career here, after whom the university is named and in whose honor a bust was erected in front of the university. Around 18,000 students were enrolled at the university in 2015, which corresponds to around one sixth of Jena’s total population.
Botanical Garden
Just a few steps further along the Fürstengraben you will reach a botanical sight of the first order: the Jena Botanical Garden. It was founded in 1586, making it the second oldest of its kind in Germany. Significant developments and expansions were also influenced by Goethe.
The botanical garden, which was redesigned in the 19th century in the style of a landscape park, now covers an area of 4.5 hectares and has around 10,000 plant species. For me, it is the most beautiful botanical garden in Germany! In the show greenhouses with the tropical house as the highest show house, you can marvel at over 1000 plant species.
The outdoor area of the Botanical Garden is divided into different outdoor precincts and has a magnificent tree population, which offers a colorful spectacle, especially in autumn.
Planetarium
Right next to the Botanical Garden is the Zeiss Planetarium. It was opened in 1926, making it the oldest projection planetarium in the world! You can admire shows on educational topics, but also programs aimed at the whole family, as well as music shows (from “The Discovery of the Universe” to “The Olchis”). I can only warmly recommend it to you – but for understandable reasons I can’t provide any photos.
The planetarium is owned by the Ernst Abbe Foundation. Ernst Abbe was a physicist with strong ties to Jena, who worked primarily in the field of optics, and now sits directly in front of the planetarium, where he is happy to see every visitor.
Powder Tower
Diagonally opposite the entrance to the Botanical Garden is the Powder Tower, another of Jena’s sights. It was built in the 14th century as a corner tower of the medieval city fortifications.
Johannistor
If you then turn left into Johannisplatz, you will come to the Johannistor, the last remaining city gate. It was already mentioned in documents at the beginning of the 14th century.
Jentower
I don’t have to explain to you how to get to the Jentower, because you can’t miss it. Actually, there is hardly a place in Jena from which it cannot be seen, it has also crept into the photos in this post again and again. The Jentower was built in GDR times and is the tallest office building in Thuringia with its 140 meters and 30 floors. Its glass facade has nearly 1500 windows. The people of Jena affectionately call him the “cookie roll”.
But what makes it one of Jena’s top sights is the elevator ride to the viewing platform on the 28th floor. From there you have a fantastic view of the Saale valley and the surrounding mountains, and in good weather you can even see Leuchtenburg Castle on the horizon.
Anatomy Tower
If you follow the Leutragraben a few steps from the entrance to the Jentower, you will come to the next tower, which is somewhat different from the Jentower on the outside: the Anatomy Tower. It is another corner tower from the old city fortifications, but not much is left of it. The interesting thing about it is that an anatomy lecture hall was built on its stump in 1750, in which – of course – Goethe discovered a previously unknown bone, the intermaxillary bone.
Ernst Abbe Monument
Now continue along Leutragraben a little further until you turn off through a passageway to Ernst-Abbe-Platz. Incidentally, I have never seen a passageway like this before: It is just big enough for a streetcar to pass through, but its route ends a few meters later – definitely not one of the classic, but most unusual Jena sights.
In any case, at the end of the square, turn left to Carl-Zeiss-Platz. There you will find the Ernst Abbe Monument, an octagonal structure with a skylight dome. It was designed by the famous Art Nouveau architect and designer Henry van de Velde, who also designed a tableware service for a porcelain manufactory in Jena and also created designs for a public swimming pool in Jena, which were never realized.
Optical Museum
The Optical Museum, where Ernst Abbe worked, is located just across the street from his monument. Unfortunately, it cannot be visited at the moment as it is being renovated. A museum is to be created here as a world of experience, in which the world-famous collection will be on display and you will also find over 100 hands-on stations, the largest glass archive in the world and a light laboratory. The opening is planned for 2026. Let’s look forward to it!
Volkshaus
Ernst Abbe was not only a highly respected physicist, but also a committed social reformer, on whose initiative the Volkshaus was built. Abbe planned it as a public place that would be open to all political and cultural initiatives. The building was completed in 1903 and is still used today as a venue for galas, concerts, meetings and conferences. The Ernst Abbe Hall can accommodate up to 1000 people.
Theaterhaus
From the Volkshaus, the route leads across Ernst-Haeckel-Platz and Schillerstraße to the Theaterhaus in Schillergässchen. The theater was built in 1872 and then rebuilt several times. Over time, it became so dilapidated that the auditorium was demolished in 1987 to make way for a new building.
But nothing came of it, so that the theater still exists today as a ruin. However, this did not prevent renowned directors and artists from continuing to perform in the ruins and draw attention to themselves with spectacular productions. The repertoire consists primarily of contemporary plays.
Schiller’s garden house
Things become more classic again when you walk a few steps further along Schillergässchen and enter a rather inconspicuous building from the side of the alley. It is Schiller’s garden house. Schiller was appointed professor at the University of Jena in 1789, but suffered from a chronic lung disease and was therefore looking for a house with a garden where he could spend the summer months in the open air. He finally found this garden house, which he moved into with his family in 1797. There is still a stone table in the garden where Schiller sat with Goethe on several occasions.
In the house there are many testimonies to Schiller’s life during this time and in some cases still some original furnishings.
Schiller Monument
Another tip for Schiller enthusiasts: there is a monument in honor of the great poet on the other side of the Saale at Wenigenjenaer Ufer 5. But I can’t tell you why it’s right there. It is probably located here because it is only a few steps from the church “Unserer Lieben Frau”, also known as Schillerkirche, in Schlippenstraße: Schiller and Charlotte von Lengsfeld were married there.
Napoleon and Jena …
… wasn’t there something? Of course, the Battle of Jena and Auerstedt. On October 14, 1806, Napoleon crushed the Prussians and Saxons at Jena, and his marshal Davout even defeated the main Prussian army at Auerstedt. After his successful campaign through the Prussian lands, Prussia was relieved of half of its territory in the Peace of Tilsit.
However, there was actually not just one battle at Jena, but several battles, including one at Cospeda. You should visit this place: in a beautiful building, where the painter Emil Nolde also lived for a time, there is a small museum with interesting information about the battle and the different types of weapons, uniforms, soldiers etc. of the two armies. Directly across from the museum you will find an orientation board that lists all the battle sites.
By the way, in Cospeda you can also join the NapoleonPath, an 8 km long circular trail with 17 interactive stations where you can learn more about nature and history.
Dornburg castles
And last but not least, there’s another sight near Jena that you absolutely have to see: There are actually three sights, the Dornburg Castles, which are perched high on a cliff above the Saale Valley. You can easily walk from castle to castle along the edge and are rewarded with a fantastic view over the Saale valley. No wonder people refer to this place as the “Balcony of Thuringia”. Goethe was also so impressed by this place that he stayed there several times.
Old castle
The oldest castle is – as the name suggests – the Old Castle. It was built around 1570. Today it is used as a conference center and is therefore not open to the public.
Renaissance castle
The second oldest castle is the Renaissance castle, the first parts of which were built as early as 1539. In 1600, an expansion took place. However, it was not until 1824 that the Grand Duke Carl August of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach, Goethe’s generous patron, gave it its present form. In the Bergstube, this living room reminds Goethe of his numerous stays.
Rococo castle
The most beautiful of the three palaces, however, is the middle one, the Rococo palace. It was built in 1740 as a pleasure palace and has magnificent halls with colorful stucco marble inside.
If you are also interested in modern art: The castle ensemble includes the former stables, which housed the Bauhaus ceramics workshop back in the 1920s. Today it can be visited as a museum with numerous original exhibits.
Book tips for the Jena sights
Want to find out more about the sights of Jena? Then our book tips are just the thing for you!
- Blum, David (Author)
In the brand-new series “MeinTrip” from the Reise Know-How publishing house, a volume on Thuringia has also appeared, in which not only the many Jena sights, but also the entire state is described!
- Israel, Juliane (Author)
In this book not only classic Jena sights are described, but you will also find a list of very personal, beautiful places in Jena.
This book dares to take a different approach, not listing classic Jena sights, but taking a nostalgic trip back in time to Jena’s history.
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