See also Jena, Louisiana, United States.

Jena is a town in central Germany on the River Saale. With a population of 101,325 (as of 30 June 2003) it is the third biggest town in the federal state of Thuringia.

History

Jena was first mentioned in 1236 and developed as a market town up until the foundation of the university in 1558.

On October 14, 1806 Napoleon fought and defeated the Prussian army here 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. 153 people were killed and most of the medieval town centre was destroyed.

Economy

Today Jena is a manufacturing city, specializing in precision machinery, pharmaceuticals, optics and photographic equipment, and is home to the famous Zeiss optics plant. In 1926 the world's first modern planetarium was built by the Zeiss company in the Damenviertel district of the town.

Buildings

• Jen-Tower

Colleges and universities

• The Friedrich Schiller University of Jena was founded in 1558 as the "Collegium Jenense".

• In 1794 the poets Goethe and Schiller met at the university and established a long lasting friendship.

• The University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule Jena) was founded in 1990.

External links

• Official Homepage of Jena (German)
• Fachhochschule Jena
• Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena
• Events, Locations & Community for Jena (German)
• Maps