The Zeiss Planetarium is the oldest continuously operating public planetarium in the world, opened in 1926 as a showcase for the Carl Zeiss Jena optical works and still screening astronomical programmes under its original dome. The building itself is a striking piece of 1920s Bauhaus-influenced design: a white concrete hemisphere rising from the Botanischer Garten, deliberately futuristic for its time and still looking the part.
The programmes change regularly and cover the full range from introductory star-gazing to more specialised topics in astrophysics. The German-language shows can be followed with a reasonable grasp of the language, and the visual experience of the dome is worth it regardless. It sits next door to the botanical garden, making a natural pairing for a morning visit.