Jenzig, Limestone summit in Jena, Germany.
Jenzig is a limestone hill on the eastern edge of Jena, recognizable from across the Saale Valley by its nose-shaped profile. It is one of several hills that line the valley, but its silhouette stands out clearly against the skyline.
Excavations carried out in the second half of the 19th century revealed Bronze Age settlements and objects now held at the University of Jena. This showed that people were living on the hill long before the city of Jena existed.
Schiller wrote his poem 'Der Spaziergang' with this landscape in mind, and the Jenzig is widely seen as one of the places that inspired him. Visitors walking up the slope today look out over the same Saale Valley view that moved the poet.
A paved zigzag path leads up to the summit restaurant, with benches along the way to rest. The view over the valley from the top makes the climb worth the effort.
The Saurian Path, opened in 2018 at the base of the hill, features life-size models of Triassic reptiles based on fossils found on site. Walking along it gives a concrete sense of the animals that once lived in this area hundreds of millions of years ago.
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