One of the oldest maintained town halls in Germany, Jena’s Rathaus (1377) is graced with an astronomical clock in its baroque tower. Every hour, on the hour, a little door opens and a devil/fool called Schnapphans ('snatching Hans') appears, fruitlessly trying to catch a golden ball representing the human soul in his mouth. The square itself is anchored by a statue of Prince-Elector Johann Friedrich I, founder of Jena’s university and popularly known as ‘Hanfried’.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
16.05 MILES
Between 1937 and 1945, hidden from Weimarers and surrounding villagers, 250,000 men, women and children were incarcerated here, some 56,500 of whom were…
Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek
11.69 MILES
Assembled by Duchess Anna Amalia (1739–1807), the power (and purse) behind Weimar's classical florescence, this Unesco-listed library has been beautifully…
25.07 MILES
Situated on the Petersberg hill northwest of Domplatz, this 36-hectare citadel ranks among Europe’s largest and best-preserved baroque fortresses. While…
21.06 MILES
This large medieval castle on the hill above town is one of Freyburg’s highlights. It houses an excellent museum that illuminates various aspects of…
6.54 MILES
About 15km north of Jena, you'll find this hillside trilogy of magnificently restored palaces in medieval, Renaissance and rococo styles, with stunning…
24.88 MILES
Erfurt's cathedral, where Martin Luther was ordained a priest, grew over the centuries from a simple 8th-century chapel into the stately Gothic pile of…
11.81 MILES
This is the world's leading museum on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany's literary colossus. It incorporates his home of 50 years, gifted by Duke Carl…
10.76 MILES
Built in 1765 and developed by the younger brother of Duke Carl August, this Unesco-listed country house flowered under the ownership of Duchess Anna…
Nearby attractions
1. Stadtmuseum & Kunstsammlung Jena
0.05 MILES
This handsome fachwerk townhouse at the northern end of the market square dates in part to the 13th century. It now houses the Stadtmuseum (city museum)…
0.08 MILES
This late-Gothic church, one of the largest in Thuringia, is famous for having Martin Luther’s original bronze gravestone, modelled on a portrait by Lucas…
3. Universität Jena – Collegium Jenense
0.12 MILES
Jena’s university faculties are spread throughout town, but this was where the university was founded as Collegium Jenense in 1548, in a former Dominican…
0.14 MILES
Built in 1972, but deceptively modern in appearance, the 128m-tall cylindrical JenTower was intended to be a Zeiss research facility, but proved…
0.18 MILES
Goethe himself planted the ginkgo tree in these wonderful botanic gardens, which have grown since their inception in 1794 to a collection of more than 12…
0.24 MILES
Goethe is credited with recruiting Schiller to Jena University in 1789. The poet, playwright and philosopher enjoyed Jena so much that he stayed for 10…
0.27 MILES
The world’s oldest public planetarium (1926) has a state-of-the-art dome projection system, making it a heavenly setting for cosmic laser shows paying…
0.36 MILES
Carl Zeiss began building rudimentary microscopes in 1846 and, with Ernst Abbe’s help, developed the first scientific microscope in 1857. Together with…