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Mini guide to Jena

Jena

The city of Jena has a vibrant cultural heritage and dynamism both coupled with education centers and youth power and makes this a scientific hub with a flourishing business center. Jena is the native to many popular historians and technologists including Goethe and Carl Zeiss.

Jena was listed first in a 1182 document and changed governance under different provinces. In the 20th century, during the Second World War it was destroyed for the most part after which it recovered and has been part of Thuringia since 1990.

Jena is well linked with airports and rail stations. It is en route in the railway line running between Berlin and Munich and has a station called Jena-Paradies. The airports of Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt are accessible through trains apart from the tow nearest airports, Altenburg-Nobitz Airport and Erfurt Airport.

Jena is an urban district on the banks of the Saale River in the state of Thuringia in the western part of Germany. It is the second largest city in the state with a population of 102,494 and an area of 114 km² and an elevation of 155 m.

The city of Jena offers an extensive network of trams and buses which serve as the public transport system and run by the Jenah organization. Local buses also connect to villages and nearby regions via the JES Verkehrsgesellschaft. The city of Jena can also be explored on foot.

Tourist sites which are not to be missed are the Town hall or Rathaus, Old castle and powder tower, Gothic St.Michael’s church, the botanical garden, house of Friedrich Schiller, Jen-tower with a restaurant at the 27th floor, UNESCO World Heritage Site Weimar, Saalfeld fairy Grottoes, optical museum and Oriental Coin cabinet Jena.

Jena offers guided tours with extremely proficient and expert guides who can provide complete details and interesting facts about the places of interest. These tours are offered to a group of 25 people and unless otherwise specified no visitor will be allowed to enter the buildings with restrictions.

Jena

The second largest city in the state of Thuringia is Jena. First mentioned in 1182, Jena developed into an independent market town with its own laws and magistrates in the 12th century. Back then, the main industry was wine making. By 1286 the Dominicans had settled the city, and the Cistercians in 1301. By 1523 the Protestant reformation had hit the city, and over the following years the convents belonging to the Dominicans and Carmelites were attacked by the local population.

In 1548 the university was founded, and in 1806 Napoleon fought and defeated the Prussian army here, and the resistance among the townsfolk against the French was strong, particularly within the student community. WWII saw the destruction of much of the medieval town center, although this was restored afterwards.

Today, Jena is a manufacturing city, with industries as varied as pharmaceuticals, precision machinery, opticals and photographic equipment, with the Zeiss factory located here. In fact, in 1926 Zeiss built the first modern planetarium in Jena. Jena’s metropolitan area is one of Germany’s 50 fastest growing regions.

There are many sites in Jena, including the Town Hall, dating back to the 1200s, and featuring an astronomic clock with ‘snatching hands’. The Church of Saint Michael has a bronze slab of Martin Luther’s tomb, and goes back to the early 1500s. There are also many old towers (from medieval fortifications), among them several dating back to the 1200s-1300s, and the old castle. The second oldest botanical gardens in Germany are found in Jena, being founded in 1580.

Buses and trams service the town well, as does the high-speed rail. And with several airports within an easy bus, train or taxi ride, the tourist or visitor (or even a local on a day trip) can easily make their way around town.

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