Tourist attractions Jena

Weimar is a city with plenty of parks and gardens. A green belt runs from Tiefurt to Belvedere, with, at its centre, the park laid out along the Ilm, just a stone's throw from the city centre. In designing this landscaped garden, Goethe's aim was not..

This residence was Goethe's favourite retreat. The great man lived here from 1776 to 1782. It was here that he drafted many manuscripts, including certain parts of Iphigenia .

Goethe lived in this Frauenplan Baroque house for more than twenty years, from 1809 to his death in 1832. The interior is for the most part the way he left it. The living rooms, workroom and library are all open to the public. An annex has been turne..

The planetarium, built beside the botanical garden by the Zeiss firm, takes spectators on a journey through outer space to explore star systems and the movement of the planets.

Here, 500 years of the history of optics is traced through a major collection of optical instruments.

The writer moved here in 1802 to be nearer to his great friend Goethe. It was here that he wrote William Tell and The Bride of Messina . Part of the house has been converted into a museum.

An exhibition on the town's history since its founding is displayed on all four floors of this fine building.

The old collegiate church of the Cistercians was profoundly remodelled in the Gothic style during the 15C. Note the canopied gateway on the south side.

Personal items belonging to the poet are on show in this house, where he lived between 1797 and 1802.

This and the Pulverturm (on the other side of the square) are all that remain of the 14C fortifications.

Goethe said that Jena provided him with the tranquillity vital to his literary creativity. The house he lived in when he came to the town contains various mementos of the poet.

This is one of the most delightful, and artistically successful castles in Thuringia. Comprising a large central block flanked by two low wings, the mansion is completed by four outbuildings and an orangery harbouring a collection of carriages and b..

The central focus of the historic cemetery is the burial place of the princely family , built in 1825-27 by C.W. Coudray. Behind this monument stands the Russian Orthodox Church , built between 1859 and 1862 for the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlova, dau..

In this one-time gardener's lodge at the entrance to the park we can see the rooms where the great composer lived during his second stay in Weimar, from 1869 to 1886.

Democracy square holds the equestrian statue of the Grand Duke Carl August of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1757-1858). On the south side, the former palace (1757-74) is occupied by the Franz Liszt academy of music . The Green Castle (16C-18C) today house..

In November 1775 Goethe met Charlotte von Stein. The first six years of his stay in Weimar were profoundly influenced by his feelings for her. The house was remodelled in 1776 to his own design.

This neo-Classical castle houses a museum presenting the Weimar art collections. As well as an important Cranach collection , and works by Dürer and painters from the Italian and Flemish schools, the museum also houses drawings, coins and Thurin..

The former summer residence of the Duchess Amalia, Tiefurt Palace (Schloss Tiefurt) is surrounded by English-style gardens. Both the castle and gardens were frequently the scene of the literary gatherings Amalia loved, with visitors such as Goethe,..

The famous painter spent the last year of his life in this Renaissance house (1549) with scrolled gables. His studio was on the third floor.

This triple-nave Gothic hall-church was built in 1500 and much remodelled in the Baroque style between 1735 and 1745. The church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul but is also known as Herder's church , in memory of the sermons preached here by ..