Lots of greenery and short distances. Colorful student life, culture and restaurants. Surrounded by a relaxing environment with two beautiful long-distance bike paths - the Saaleradweg and the Thüringer Städtekette. For those who are on the road here, a detour through paradise directly into the center of Jena is obligatory!
The javelin thrower and Olympic champion Thomas Röhler from Jenens is on the road all over the world. Challenges await him everywhere, and everywhere is beautiful, exciting and interesting. But the competitive athlete only wants to live in one place - his hometown of Jena.
"Just turn off your cell phone, enjoy the moment, get your adrenaline down." That's the great thing about Jena: nature is always just 15 minutes away! Thomas Röhler appreciates this unique quality of life so much about his city. His favorite destination is the SaaleHorizontale, a hiking trail that leads across the shell limestone slopes around Jena. A short trip out of the city and up into the heights - that's how quickly you can relax! After a short time, you're back in the bustling center, and everyday life can continue. Thereby the SaaleHorizontale never boring. Once you're out and about, you'll always discover new opportunities and photo spots, whether you're just walking for an hour or taking a ten-hour hiking tour.
The magnificent views of the city and the surrounding villages, the Saale valley, Fuchsturm or Jenzig inspire every time anew. By the way, the best view of Jena is from the Landgrafen, a mountain restaurant where you can also eat wonderfully, at eye level with the JenTower. So what are you waiting for? Let's get out, climb up and go!
If it's raining in Jena, that's no reason to despair, but a welcome reason to visit a particularly exciting attraction, the Zeiss Planetarium Jena: Here you embark on a journey into the distant worlds of planets, stars and galaxies, and with technical possibilities that others can only dream of... By the way, the Zeiss Planetarium Jena is a hot tip even in good weather!
For plant lovers and nature lovers, the Botanical Garden is a must. What all grows, blooms and thrives here in the middle of the city center! In the Victoria House, for example, the most beautiful colorful butterflies flutter and delight young and old. And in the fascinating park, with its alpine nursery and areas for tropical, useful and medicinal plants, every specialty has its own area and its own charm.
The Jena Botanical Garden is the second oldest in Germany. It was founded in 1586 as a medicinal herb garden, but it owes its present form to Goethe's involvement. The leaves of the more than 200-year-old ginkgo, a "contemporary" of Goethe's, glow brilliant yellow in the fall, recalling the master's botanical work. But there is much more to see! Around 10,000 plant species grow on an area of 4.5 hectares, making the garden a wonderful retreat for stressed office workers, botanically interested people and tourists seeking relaxation - and all this in the middle of Jena's lively city center.
Cover photo: About 110,000 people live in Jena © JenaKultur, Photo: A. Gräf
