Thuringia [antikvár]

View of Jena from Landgrafen Jena As a university town and as the home of Zeiss, Jena (107,600 inhabitants, 19Ő6) is a town which combines tradition and progress and is well known far beyond the borders of our republic. The combine VEB Carl Zeiss JENA plays a large part in the town; its name is recognized as a synonym for superior workmanship and précision in over 100 countries world-wide. Jena, set in the centre of the Saale river Valley and surrounded by steep, limestone slopes some 400m above sea level, is reputed for its scenic countryside. Woods, extending to the outskirts of the town, and countless gardens justify this réputation. Because of its surround-ings Jena is one of the most interesting and scenic town in the GDR. History Jena was first mentioned in a document in the 9th century. At that time the monastery of Hersfeld played an important role in the history of Thuringia: in the monastery's tythere-gister a place called "Jani" is mentioned. Even at this early date Jena displayed the character-istics of a medieval town. The fact that there was a mint shows us that Jena was already of some importance. In the 1330's Jena's status was raised to that of a town; unfortunately the originai manu-script hearing witness to this has not survived. The citizens of Jena were first mentioned in 1236, so in 1986 Jena was able to celebrate its 750th anniversary. In the mid-14th century Jena increasingly freed itself from feudal servitude and was granted, for example, coinage and customs rights. In t429 supreme jurisdiction was granted. Through these measures Jena achieved a restricted degree of civic auto-nomy. In about 1300, the town fortifications were erected. Between 1377 and 1380, the town hall was built and construction work then began on the late Gothic town church. From the 12th to the 15th century three monasteries and some chapels were built. In 1490 the population of Jena amounted to some 3,800 inhabitants, which then constituted a middlesized town. In the middle of the 16th century the university of Jena was founded. This was largely re-