Jena: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 35 - 119 MAXX Hotel Jena
 This hotel with its 1930s to 1950s American flair, still provides guests with all modern amenities and is only 10 minutes from Jena’s historic town … MoreEUR 75 - 150 Schwarzer Bär Jena
 This historic, 4-star hotel is directly opposite the main university building in the centre of Jena. It offers fine Thuringian and international food,… MoreEUR 50 - 149 Steigenberger Esplanade Jena
 Situated beside the Friedrich Schiller University in the heart of Jena, this 4-star hotel features striking architecture. Enjoy well-equipped rooms, a… MoreEUR 46 - 64 Thüringer Sozialakademie - Tagungshotel
 Offering affordable accommodation and modern conference facilities, this hotel in Jena is affiliated with the Thuringian Social Academy’s educationa… MoreEUR 68 - 88 Jembo Park Hotel
 This 3-star hotel is located in the Göschwitz district of Jena, close to the A4 motorway. It offers comfortable rooms, an on-site bowling centre and … MoreEUR 59 - 69 Ibis Hotel Jena am Holzmarkt
 This hotel offers a free internet terminal, a 24-hour bar and underground parking. It stands in the centre of Jena, just steps from the Holzmarkt tram… MoreEUR 75 - 95 Fair Resort Sport & Wellness Hotel
 This 4-star hotel features spa facilities with indoor and outdoor pools, a bowling alley, indoor tennis and badminton courts and 2 restaurants. It is … MoreEUR 58 - 145 Gasthof zur Schweiz
 This traditional, family-run hotel offers a free buffet breakfast and free parking. It enjoys a central location in the historic city of Jena, directl… MoreEUR 50 - 95 Hotel Thüringer Hof
 This hotel in Jena city centre offers free breakfast, free parking, and good transport links. The main shopping area and train station are 5-10 minute… MoreEUR 64 - 105 Best Western Hotel Jena
 This 4-star hotel in Jena offers comfortable rooms, a wellness area and free Wi-Fi internet. It lies a 15-minute walk from Göschwitz train station an… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jena: Guide
Jena is a city in the Germany|German state of Thuringia (Thüringen).
Understand
Jena was founded quite late, compared to its near neighbour villages, in the early 2nd millennium. Part of the State of Thuringia from its foundation in 1920 on, it was incorporated into the German Democratic Republic in 1949 and its district of Gera in 1952. Since 1990, the city of Jena has been a part of the Free State of Thuringia which is itself part of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Jena has one of the biggest universities in Germany and its ratio of students to the total of inhabitants may belong to the greatest in Germany, as there are 20,000 students at the university which was founded in 1558 and named after Friedrich Schiller in 1934. Additionally, there are some 4,500 students at the university of applied sciences (Fachhochschule), making one out of four citizens of Jena a student.
Goethe and Schiller, probably the two greatest German writers, lived in Jena as well as for example the biologist Ernst Haeckel, the physicists Ernst Abbe and Erwin Schrödinger and the philosopher Karl Marx.
Jena is also famous of its Carl Zeiss optics and the Schott glass factories. Still important to Jena, the number of workers drastically declined after Jena became part of capitalistic Germany.
Get in
By plane
There are two small airports in (east of Jena) and (west of Jena). Coming from far away you will probably arrive in Frankfurt. In any case coming from the west you can either take the train to Weimar by the Intercity Express and then get to the regional train to Jena or you can go by car via the highway straight towards Jena.
By train
Jena is located directly at the north-south connection between Munich and Berlin with a stop in the Paradies-Bahnhof (literally paradise station, as the park it is located in is called Paradies). On the other hand you can jump on the west-east connection between Frankfurt and Leipzig in Weimar which is some kilometres away.
By car
Jena is not far from the Hermsdorfer Kreuz where the A9 (E49/E51) from Berlin to Munich and the A4 (E40) from Frankfurt to Dresden cross. Just take the way towards Erfurt/Frankfurt and you'll reach Jena within minutes.
Get around
You can reach all important destinations by going. You can also use public transport (buses and tram) but public transport is not cheap in Jena. Look at .
See
Holzmarkt (literally wood market) is a good point to start your tour through Jena. Go up to Löbdergraben and turn towards Engelplatz (Post office). You'll see the Kulturhaus. Right next to it there is a small street in which you can find Schiller's garden house with an exhibition in it. By the way, Kulturhaus has great theatre.
Leaving again towards Engelplatz and going straight towards Johannisplatz on the left you'll find GoetheGalerie, one of the greatest shopping malls in Jena. On the right is the Anatomy Tower. Some metres ahead there is Ernst-Abbe-Platz which is meant to be the Campus of the university for Mathematics, Law, Economy and some other departments (faculties) are located around the place. If you are on Johannisplatz, you'll see Johannisturm (John's Tower). Right next to it there is the Intershop Tower which is owned by a new economy company. At its bottom there is Neue Mitte, another great shopping mall. If you turn around you see Wagnergasse. Wagnergasse is the best location to have a rest in a restaurant. "Stilbruch" is known to be among the best restaurants in Jena.
You can now go some metres up to Fürstengraben. If you go along Fürstengraben, after some metres you will see the Botanic Garden. It is absolutely worth going there. After passing the Thuringian University and State Library (on the left) you will see University Main Building (Universitätshauptgebäude) on the right. Turn right to the Schlossgasse and left towards Oberlauengasse. Go some metres through Oberlauengasse and then turn right towards Markt. On the great square you can see the old city hall. Eating here is not the worst idea. Take now the way towards Kollegiengasse. Here you can find where the university was actually founded. On the right there is Eichplatz. Now turn left towards Holzmarkt and you're at the place where you started.
Do
Enjoy nightlife at Wagnergasse and/or (Johannisstraße) and/or (near Westbahnhof).
Buy
Take a look at GoetheGalerie or Neue Mitte. Here you can find almost anything you need.
Eat
Thuringian specialties are: Thüringer Rostbratwurst (Thuringian roaster sausage), Rostbrätel (roasted meat). You'll find more on the menu in Noll (Oberlauengasse), Stilbruch (Wagnergasse) and most other restaurants. As Jena is a student town and a town in the east of Germany prices are slightly lower than in West Germany.
Drink
You should taste black (dark) beer. In all restaurants you will either get Köstritzer or Schwarze Rose. Both are good. You will find many Pils sorts as well.
There is a youth hostel (Jugendgästehaus) at Am Herrenberge 3, Tel.: +49 3641 687230, Fax: +49 3641 687202, E-Mail: JGH-Jena@internationaler-bund.de.
There are lots of good hotels with reasonable prices. You will probably find something in the old town.
Although Germany's east is considered to be a bit more dangerous for people "looking foreign" this is not problem in Jena in general due to the high number of foreigners, especially foreign students, in Jena. Jena is amongst the towns with the highest ratio of foreigners in eastern Germany. So just take those measures you would normally take in the town you come from.
You have lots of possibilities to leave and see other towns like Weimar and Erfurt. Some more time away there are Dresden or Leipzig. People who like hiking or biking will enjoy travelling through Thuringia.
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikitravel article "Jena". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license.Sleep
Budget
Mid-range and splurge
Stay safe
Though, when using the tram in the night, the risk of encountering people you didn't want to encounter rises.Get out