JenTower


Built in 1972, but deceptively modern in appearance, the 128m-tall cylindrical JenTower was intended to be a Zeiss research facility, but proved unsuitable. There's a shopping mall at ground level and two open-air observation decks at the top, offering sensational views from 125m above the city.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Universität Jena – Collegium Jenense

0.08 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…

2. Botanischer Garten

0.09 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…

3. Stadtkirche St Michael

0.13 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…

4. Rathaus

0.14 MILES

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…

5. Stadtmuseum & Kunstsammlung Jena

0.15 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)…

6. Zeiss Planetarium

0.22 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…

7. Schillers Gartenhaus

0.23 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…

8. Optisches Museum

0.25 MILES

Carl Zeiss began building rudimentary microscopes in 1846 and, with Ernst Abbe’s help, developed the first scientific microscope in 1857. Together with…