JenTower

Hy guys! Let me tell you something about Jena, the city where I spent one year as Erasmus and where I left a piece of my heart. Jena is a small university city in the middle of the forest in Thüringen. There are still some medieval looking buildings, but at some point the past meets the future: the mixture of this two architectonic styles creates a unique atmosphere.

One of the symbol of the city is the JenTower, also (ironically) called Penis Jenensis and Keksrolle (cookie roll). The tower is, due to its 159. 60m high, one of the tallest in the whole Eastern Germany and its history is connected Carl Zeiss, a famous and important maker of optical instruments. It was designed and built in 1972 by Henselmann and today is used as office building and there you can also fine a shopping center. The best thing about the tower is that it’s right in the middle of the city and you can go on the top of if and enjoy a great view of Jena!

The tower is open everyday from 10am to 11pm and it costs only 3€ to go inside. At the entrance you will first find a small art gallery before moving to the lifts. Once you get on the top, relax and enjoy this wonderful view. The best moment to go is when the sun is going down: you will see the sky changing from light blue to orange until it gets all dark and at the same time even the city will change. The dark sky will be in contrast with the living lights of the city and Jena will offer you some truly magic moments.

Let the tower inspire you!

JenTower skyscraper located in the city centre of Jena. It was build in 1972 as a part of a requalification program of East-Germany after World War, with the initial purpose of hosting a research centre associated with the Zeiss Industry, but then it was donated to the University of Jena (Friedrich Schiller University).

It's 149 metres high and it's composed by 31 floors. Nowadays, it's mainly occupied by offices, radio and tv repetitors, but it's also a touristic attraction: in fact, it's possible to eat in a graceful restaurant on the top of the tower and to enjoy a great view of the city by visiting the 28th floor.

For me, as an Erasmus student, it was an important building for three reasons:

1. It was my main point of reference in case I needed orientation in the city and surrounding areas.
2. On the 18th floor, there is the research centre about Person Perception (department of Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience), where many seminars were held (it was so cool to attend lessons in such a modern and panoramic place!).
3. At the basement floor, there were very useful shops in hte Neuemitte shopping centre (for example the ALDI, the DM and Schumann), so it was confortable for me to have all those shops so close too the place I went to attend my seminars.

All in all, if you ever go visiting or studying in Jena, you can't miss this famous and peculiar building, which is considered one of the symbols of the city!