The JenTower is a

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Common names

The tower has been known by many names, official and unofficial. From 1992 until January 2005, the tower was called the ''Intershop Tower'' after its principal tenant, Intershop Communications AG. On November 30, 2004, the building was renamed the JenTower. Until 1995 the building was used by the Friedrich Schiller

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

, and therefore it is still colloquially known as the University Tower. Further unofficial names include

Phallus A phallus (: phalli or phalluses) is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history, a figure with an erect penis is described as ''ithyphallic''. Any object that symbo ...

Jenensis,

Cookie A cookie is a sweet biscuit with high sugar and fat content. Cookie dough is softer than that used for other types of biscuit, and they are cooked longer at lower temperatures. The dough typically contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of ...

Roll (Keksrolle), University Tower (Uniturm) or the Henselmann tower, after the architect Hermann Henselmann. Often it is just called ''the tower''.

Buildings in vicinity

The JenTower stands directly opposite to the so-called Building 15, which was the first German highrise building. Building 15 was erected in to a height of 43 meters in 1915, based on plans by the architect

Friedrich Puetzer Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

(1871–1922). Other buildings in the neighborhood are Building 36 (today seat of the

Jenoptik Jenoptik AG is a Jena, Germany-based integrated photonics company. The company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and is included in the TecDAX stock index. History The group can trace its heritage back to the original Carl Zeiss AG c ...

) and Building 59 (Carl Zeiss Jena Research building), likewise designed by Henselmann.

Construction

The architect of the tower was Hermann Henselmann, one of the most famous architects of the former

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. The idea of a monolithic tower as an "urban crown" was developed by

Bruno Taut Bruno Julius Florian Taut (4 May 1880 – 24 December 1938) was a renowned German architect, urban planner and author. He was active during the Weimar period and is known for his theoretical works as well as his building designs. Early l ...

, who was city architect in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

in the 1920s. Construction began in June 1969, in a residential and business quarter spared by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The foundation stone was laid on April 30, 1970. Construction took place in sliding scarf building method, and was completed on October 2, 1972 at the original height of 127 meters. The circular tower is a

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

construction with two basements, a 3.20-meter-thick mat foundation and a diameter of 33 meters. In 1968‐1969 there were also state plans to build a recreation center for VEB Zeiss workers next to the tower. This additional building would have displaced the historical Collegium Jenese

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

. These plans were scrapped due to protests of the locals, in particular those of microbiologist

Hans Knöll Hans Knöll (January 7, 1913 – June 26, 1978) was a German physician and microbiologist. He was the director of the Central Institute of Microbiology and Experimental Therapy in Jena from 1953 to 1976, a member of the Academy of Sciences of ...

, and due to the poor financial shape of VEB Zeiss at the time. Even the tower itself proved too expensive for VEB Zeiss to maintain, and it was moved into the property of the

after it was completed, despite the University's protestations. In 1999 the building was sold to an investor, who completed a modernization in 2001. At this time, two additional floors and a

UMTS The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a 3G mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. UMTS uses Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, wideband code-division multiple access (W-CDMA) radio access technolog ...

antenna were added, and the 28th and 29th floors were converted into a restaurant. Including the antenna the tower reaches 159 meters. The building was the second tallest in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

after the City Hochhaus Leipzig, and after two additional stories were added in 2001, became the tallest in former East Germany. It is currently the 28th-highest in Germany. All 27 that are taller are in former

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20060713013354/http://www.intershop-tower.de/content.php?SID=index&LID=9 * http://www.thehighrisepages.de/hhkartei/jenauni.htm
JenTower
at

CTBUH The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings, including skyscrapers, and sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in Chicago, Illinois, U ...

{{Portal bar, Germany, Architecture Skyscrapers in Germany Skyscraper office buildings in Germany Buildings and structures in Jena Buildings and structures completed in 1972 Office buildings completed in 1972 1972 establishments in East Germany 20th-century architecture in Germany East German architecture Modernist architecture in Germany

Common names

Buildings in vicinity

Construction

See also

References

External links