About Jena

The public transport in Jena and Thuringia is well developed and trams or buses will take you home almost 24 hours a day.

Once you are enrolled at the university of Jena, you can use the public transportation within Jena (buses and trams) free of charge with your student identification card (Thoska Card).

• In addition, your student identification card (Thoska card) is valid for trains of regional transportation (RE, RB) on all routes of the DB Regio up to the last train stop in Thuringia and all routes of transportation companies of the VMT (Verkehrsverbund Mittelthüringen). However, there are some exceptions. (Link)

From 1 October 2024, the thoska will no longer be the ticket. You will receive a digital Germany Semester Ticket (Deutschlandsemesterticket) in the app of the respective provider.

The Germany Semester Ticket is valid nationwide and allows you to travel throughout Germany on local public transport and regional rail services.  Long-distance trains cannot be used with the Germany Semester Ticket. A separate ticket is required for this.  The exception in Thuringia is the IC connection from Erfurt via Weimar and Jena to Gera. This can also be used in both directions between these cities with the Germany Semester Ticket.  

If you are not enrolled at Jena University you have to buy tickets according to the price list (Link). Tickets are available in buses and trams, at ticket machines throughout the city as well as at the JeNah service point in the city center. Please note that in buses and trams only coins are accepted.

In order to save money you can use special offers like a 4in1 ticket (4-Fahrkarte), a day pass (Tageskarte), a week pass (Wochenkarte) or monthly ticket (Monatskarte).

Beside tickets with a defined validity, all tickets must be validated immediately after entering the bus or tram.

The Jenaer Nahverkehr provides some general English information (Link).

Accommodation for the short stay during the recruitment session will be organized by the coordination office.

Once you are accepted and you have made the decision to join us, looking for an apartment early is an important matter. Finding a place to live is not an easy task in Jena. Please start your search for accommodation as early as possible. Our Euraxess Point can support you.

We have the possibility to apply for a place in one of the three guesthouses of the university for you. There, you may live for a month and up to two years. Many students start in the Guest House "Am Herrenberg 11". Please contact our relocation office for the room reservation and further information about accommodation.

The average cost of living in Jena is around 900 Euro per month for PhD candidates. Between 300 and 500 will be taken up by rent.

Jena is much more than a working place and its university. One quarter of the inhabitants are students. Therefore, Jena is a very young and lively city. Cafés and student clubs allow you to meet friends, to see and to be seen. 

The Jena Tourism website gives you many information what to do after working time. (Link)

Famous Museums and Sights you should not miss and that sometimes even fit to your research topics are:

• the Phyletisches Museum, founded by Ernst Haeckel, exhibits the whole animal kingdom and all aspects of evolution including humanization
• the Optical Museum with the largest collection of spectacles in Europe and the historic Zeiss workshop shows you how Zeiss manufactured microscopes in the middle of the 19^th century
• the Botanical Garden started off by the poet and minister Goethe and harbours plants from all of the world’s climatic zones
• the Zeiss Planetarium Jena, the oldest operating planetarium in the world, now equipped with the latest technology, facilitates a full-dome projection
• the JenTower with a height of 159 metres and with an observation platform provides a fantastic view of the city and its surroundings

Apart from that, there is also an attractive cultural scene in Jena. Annual events like the Kulturarena - an open-air grand festival of theater, film, and music, the Irish Music festival or the Jazz festival as well as plenty regular events from the Jena Theater or the Philharmonic Orchestra will help you to enjoy your stay.

Jena is a sport-enthusiastic city. There are many annual events and everybody can participate either active or passive. 
Some examples are:

• Horizontale (35 km/ 100 km around Jena)
• Jenaer Kernberglauf (5 km/ 15 km/ 27 km for adults; 1km / 2,5 km for children)
• Firmenlauf (team event with colleagues)
• Triathlon (individual or as a team)
• Turmlauf (run to the top of the JenTower)
• Jenziglauf (run to the top of the mountain "Jenzig")
• Hanfried-Turnier (several sports activities; organized by the University)
• Drachenbootrennen (team boat race with 20 paddlers and a drummer)

After enrollment at university you are entitled to participate in all sport activities offered by the Hochschulsport Jena. (Link)

At FLI several sport events take place as well (e.g. soccer or running). Please ask your colleagues about current sport groups, times etc. Information about life at the FLI can be found here.