Travel Blog

my destination is the university town of Jena in the German state of Thuringia. Navigating the huge airport at Frankfurt I reach the station to board an intercity express. The train ride of three hours takes me across the beautiful German countryside passing through cities like Erfurt (capital of Thuringia) and Eisenach. I get off at the small historic town of Weimar from where I board a regional express that will take me Jena. By the time I reach Jena, it is half past eight. Even in May it is pretty cold. A slight drizzle greets me when I get off at Jena west Station.

Jena lies on the bank of the river Saale, a tributary of the Elbe. The Kern Berger hills surrounded the town, adding to the beauty. Jena, originally founded by winegrowers, was first mentioned in the official records in 1236. Since the foundation of the university in 1558, the city has acquired European prominence. For a sort of period Jena was the capital of an independent dukedom Saxe-Jena. In 1992 it was annexed to Saxe-Eisenach and later to the Grand Duchy of Saxe- Weimar, to which it belonged until 1918. On 14 October 1806 Napoleon defeated the Prussian army in the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt. In 1945, towards the end of World War II, Jena was heavily bombed by the American and British allies and most of the medieval town center was destroyed.

Jena was home to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller and the optical engineer Carl Zeiss and for nearly 450 years Friedrich Schiller University has had a huge influence on the town’s success over the years, with great thinkers leaving their mark. This has made the town a unique melting-pot of tradition and modernity. These include the Botanical Gardens, founded second in Germany, museums such as the Romantiker Haus which deals with early Romanticism in Jena, the 1806 Museum in Cospeda on the twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt, the Optical Museum, the Schott Villa and the Ernst Haeckel House. Other notable sights are the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra, the second largest in Thuringia in the Volkshaus, the most important location in Jena for concert and conferences, Jena theatre and the world’s oldest Planetarium, Carl Zeiss Planetarium, now equipped with the latest technology. In Jena one can find the largest collection of eyeglasses in Europe as well as the famous Zeiss Microscope which was developed in the city and enjoy the excellent reputation throughout the world in the optical Museum. Other famous residents of Jena include Fichte, Friedrich Schelling, Karl Marx and Ernst Abbe. Apart from a shopping mall and a four-star Hotel today, the Ernst Abbe Square provides room for the university campus. Jen Tower the town’s landmark, which can be viewed from almost anywhere in Jena; it’s shaped like a cylindrical ocular and was built as a research building for the GDR. Until its extensive renovation, the tower was used by the Jena University. The lovely weather, initially cold but then getting warmer, the German summer, the warmth of the people, the beautifully maintained monuments, made my trip to Jena so memorable.