Rathaus Thuringian Forest & The Saale Valley

One of the oldest maintained town halls in Germany, Jena’s Rathaus (1377) is graced with an astronomical clock in its baroque tower. Every hour, on the hour, a little door opens and a devil/fool called Schnapphans ('snatching Hans') appears, fruitlessly trying to catch a golden ball representing the human soul in his mouth. The square itself is anchored by a statue of Prince-Elector Johann Friedrich I, founder of Jena’s university and popularly known as ‘Hanfried’.