History of Jena

The history of Jena traces back to the 9th Century. Back then Jena was only a small village. In 1236 Jena is first named "city". In Medieval time being a "city" was synonymous with a certain independence, economical advantages and self- government.

The university (today named Friedrich Schiller University) was founded in 1548 and started working in 1558. Around 1800 Jena and the university formed an intellectual and cultural centre. Well known from these times are Goethe , Schiller, Fichte, Hegel, Feuerbach, Schelling, Hufeland and Doebereiner.

Well remembered is the fight at Jena-Auerstedt where Napoleon's troops defeated the Prussian army in 1806.

Significant for Jena as a modern centre of education and sciences is the time-span between the 1880s and the Weimar Republic (1918). Of special importance are the biologist Ernst Haeckel and the mathematician and logician Gottlob Frege. Worth mentioning are also Hans Berger (psychiatrist), Otto Binswanger (psychiatrist), Rudolf Eucken (Nobel Prize for Literature), Johann Gustav Droysen (historian), Karl-Volkmar Stoy (educationalist) and Eduard Rosenthal (jurist).

Jena - Today

Jena is a university town located in central Germany at the Saale river. It is a city with 100.000 inhabitants. The city is surrounded by green hills covered with forest, and the river Saale meanders fantastically through the valley of Jena. The botanical garden and the parks also make it an attractive place for tourists.

Its numerous architectural monuments and cultural-historical sights bear witness to Jena´s glorious and eventful past. Names like Goethe, Schiller, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel are linked with Jena´s brilliant intellectual history.

Apart from that, Jena is a silicon valley in the federal state of Thuringia. Carl Zeiss Jena and SCHOTT Jenaer glass are famous worldwide and Jena has a good reputation as a centre for bio-technology.

The Intershop tower, Jena's landmark, shaped like a cylindrical ocular, was built as a research building for the former GDR. Until its extensive renovation the tower was used by the FSU Jena. Today, it hosts offices of various companies and the platform on top of the tower offers a breathtaking panoramic view from a height of 128 meters. The platform is open daily.

As appropriate for a university town, Jena has a number of bars, restaurants, student clubs, cafés and other meeting places forming an integrated part of student (night) life. Jena offers also a wide range of cultural activities. In addition to the regular programmes of the city’s theatre and philharmonic orchestra, student clubs and other local groups organize cultural weeks and workshops.

Text: PR-Group, The Melton Foundation Jena