Whenever Goethe felt too cooped up in Weimar, he retired to Jena – to work. It had just the right atmosphere, and still has today. Researchers at the Institute for Molecular Biotechnology in Jena were involved in deciphering the human genome. In early summer 2000, news of this went around the world, together with warnings against interfering with the genetic code.

Anyone who has never heard of chromosome 21 may well know the names Carl Zeiss or Ernst Abbe. In the last third of the 19th century, the entrepreneur and the scientist laid the foundation stone for a high-tech location that is again thriving today, with an emphasis on optics and precision engineering. Carl Zeiss Jena, Jenoptik, Schott Jenaer Glas and Jenapharm are known internationally. At 50%, the export rate is above average.