Living in Jena
Learn and live in the green heart of Germany.
The city center of Jena during fall season
What is the best place to live in Germany? German citizens were asked this in a survey in 2019. They ranked Jena 16th best out of the 401 cities and districts in Germany. Indeed, in the East of Germany Jena is the second most popular city after Dresden.
Since we assume that many of you do not know our hometown, we collected some basic facts, which you can find here.
Students talking to each other
Jena exhibits a peculiar mix of old and new. Prince Elector Johann Friedrich founded our university in 1558. It is named after one of the most well-known German poets, Friedrich Schiller, who taught history in Jena. Many other renowned scholars also worked here, such as Goethe, Hegel, Fichte and Zeiss. Karl Marx got his PhD at our university. At the same time, the city is modern and progressive, featuring optical, pharmaceutical, biochemical, and IT firms with an international reputation and many high-tech start-ups, which keep innovative students in the city after completing their degrees.
About one quarter of the 105,000 inhabitants of Jena are students. This is the highest ratio in the East of Germany and among the top ten in Germany. 18,000 of them are registered at our university with its more than 200 programmes, and 5,000 are at the University of Applied Sciences. 2,300 are international students from over 100 countries. Many are visiting from our more than 200 Erasmus partner institutions.
Vibrant student life is a key factor shaping our city. Jena is growing, and it is a young city. 12 per cent of the population is younger than 18 years. The average age is about two years below the national average. 10 per cent have an international family background. And almost 30 per cent of the population have a university degree – which is the highest rate in all of Germany!
Jena is a city of short distances. The campus and many other university facilities are located in the city centre within walking distance. Many take their bikes. The semester ticket, which you receive upon university registration, lets you use public transport for free throughout Thuringia and thus enables you to discover the region by bus and train.
Life in Jena is attractive, not least due to the relatively low living costs compared to the rest of Germany. Families love the high number of kids per household and there are great options for day-care. Many come and enjoy the lush green of the Saale river meandering through the city and its slopes, which produces the warmest and most pleasant climate the East of Germany offers. Conditions for hiking, biking, canoeing or simply relaxing are excellent.
Picture of the city of Jena
Sport is a top priority in Jena. The University Sports Club is one of the largest clubs in Thuringia. The University of Jena offers around 80 sports and more than 450 courses each semester. More than 150 additional sports clubs call Jena their home.
Maybe you prefer culture. Jena is shaped by its colourful and diverse student culture. You can enjoy life here strolling through the beautiful Paradies park, visiting the theatre or the three cinemas, shopping or lingering in numerous cafés and restaurants. Or you can watch the shows of the oldest Planetarium in Germany, visit the Kulturarena in summer, listen to the philharmonic orchestras’ performances or the weekly jam sessions, attend the university’s annual long night of science and many other events. And if that's not enough, you can visit close-by Weimar, the city of classics, of the Weimar Republic and the Bauhaus architectural style. The renowned German National Theatre with its sections opera, orchestra and theatre can be reached quickly and free of charge with the semester ticket.
Or maybe you prefer nature? Here Jena is at its best. The town is surrounded by countryside with a magnificent landscape, including the northernmost vineyards of Germany. There are trails all over the place, in particular the Horizontale, a 72 km trail around the city where once a year hikers compete in a day-and-night contest. Others bike to the many castles around Jena, such as the three UNESCO World Heritage Dornburg castles, or to the Romanic cathedrals such as the one in Naumburg. Still others take the bike trails to reach the picturesque old cities of Erfurt and Weimar. Or you can spend a day cross-country skiing in the Thuringian mountains in winter. Within a day, you can even get to the Wartburg castle in Eisenach where Martin Luther found refuge and translated the Bible into colloquial German.
With so much to see in Jena, it might be tempting to add another year to your studies just to explore all of it!