Crypt of the Princes of Saxony-Jena

Hidden beneath the town church of St Michael is a quiet, haunting place where life, power and transience come face to face: the royal crypt of the Dukes of Saxony-Jena.

In the course of the baroque remodelling of the church in the late 17th century, the burial place of a short-lived but impressive dynasty was created here. The young Duke Bernhard and his family were laid to rest in elaborately crafted pewter coffins - an early burial that tells of both courtly splendour and the fragility of life.

The guided tour opens up a view of this special room under the choir, where History is not only told, but made tangible: from the brief rise of the Duchy of Saxe-Jena to its rapid end, from the glamorous epitaph to the quiet presence of the coffins.

In the context of the "What is life?" theme week, the crypt becomes a place of questions: What remains of people after death? How does an era stage its own end? And how close are splendour and transience to each other?

Following extensive restoration, the Prince's Crypt is now accessible again - and invites visitors to rediscover History in the literal sense "underground".