Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden of Jena is the second-oldest botanical garden in Germany, maintained by the Friedrich Schiller University and situated just at the edge of the city center. Gardens of this type were originally established in the early modern period to cultivate medicinal plants for training pharmacists and physicians — a scholarly function that remains alive today through the adjacent botanical, biological, and pharmaceutical university institutes. Across 4.5 hectares, the garden holds plant collections spanning multiple climate zones, including tropical glasshouses and a woody-plant arboretum, and is listed as a protected cultural monument. Open daily from April through October (10:00–19:00) and through the winter months (10:00–18:00), with an admission fee and last entry 30 minutes before closing.