City forest

Jena is a high-tech city surrounded by greenery. People use the surrounding nature primarily for sport and leisure - the city forest therefore plays a major role as a place of recreation. In addition to its function as a habitat for fungi, plants and animals, our forest makes a major contribution to water and soil conservation. As "air conditioning for the city", it also provides fresh, clean air and, especially in summer, cooling.

Large parts of the urban forest areas are subject to various protection categories. In addition to the "classic" nature reserves, these include landscape conservation areas, bird sanctuaries and flora and fauna habitat areas. You can find more information here.

What grows here

Jena has a warm and dry climate by Central European standards. The average annual temperature is currently (2023) 10.2 °C and the average annual precipitation is 666.8 mm. These climatic conditions naturally influence the existing vegetation. This is particularly noticeable on the south-facing shell limestone slopes.

As a result, Jena's city forest is dominated by dry deciduous forests with sessile oaks, hornbeams, lime trees and service trees as well as coniferous forests with Scots pines and black pines.

There are hardly any spruces left and the proportion of pines is also steadily decreasing, so that around a third of the trees in the forest are now conifers.

In addition to our two foresters, 12 employees work for the forest. Our tasks also include marking out and maintaining the hiking trails, fulfilling our duty to ensure traffic safety, educational work and providing wood as a sustainable raw material.

We are supported in our work by four volunteers who are completing a Federal Voluntary Service or a Voluntary Ecological Year.

Occasionally, interns, students writing their dissertations with us or pupils whose seminar papers we supervise also join the team.

The Jena city forest is part of the "Middle Saale Valley" nature region, making the city of Jena one of the main players in the local landscape. As part of the EU's tourism promotion program, nature in Jena's Saale Valley is to be made more attractive, sustainable and future-proof as an adventure region. The SaaleHorizontale quality hiking trail forms the framework of the adventure region, with the new nature experience center on Schottplatz at its core.



The "Nature Experience Region" project is intended to supplement existing themed trails in and around Jena and create further adventure trails. The existing 'Clever Ux' and 'Trixi Trias dinosaur trail' are particularly appealing to children and families who want to learn more about nature and the history of the earth. the 'Climate Trail' and 'Local History Trail' are more for the big "naturalists", but above all something for the consciously experiencing, knowledge-thirsty and nature-loving hiker.



Two completely new trails in the Saale valley and the Saale high plateau will appeal to hikers, nature lovers, visitors interested in history and "naturalists" alike. The design and narrative content will follow a "green thread" that will include both analog and digital elements. Intensive conceptual work is currently underway.



Augmented reality will connect the real world with the virtual world. The past and future can actually be experienced in the real world.



Jena as a "high-tech forge" in the middle of nature reserves! - Our project will once again shape this image and develop it to the highest level.



The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).