The JenTower is a 144-metre skyscraper that dominates Jena's skyline and represents a peculiarly Thuringian collision of GDR ambition with post-reunification capitalism. It was built in the 1970s as the headquarters of the VEB Carl Zeiss Jena combine — the nationalised optics giant — and at the time was the tallest building in East Germany outside of East Berlin. The cylindrical form and the oversized scale were unmistakably statements of socialist modernity.
After reunification it went through various owners and functions, and it now operates as an office building with a public viewing platform at 128 metres. The view from the top is the best way to understand Jena's geography: the Saale valley, the limestone cliffs pressing in from both sides, and the city spreading along the valley floor with the university at its heart. On clear days you can see across into the hills of the Thuringian Forest to the southwest.