District heating project celebrates anniversary: 20 years of Jena's veins

District heating lines as a cultural project: the „veins of Jena“ are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. Since 2004, Stadtwerke Jena, the city of Jena and JenaKultur have been drawing the public's attention to the above-ground section of Jena's long-distance pipeline with art activities, events and landscaping. The mostly green pipes stretch for 12 kilometers from Jenaer Paradies via Winzerla and Göschwitz to Lobeda. What began as a student experiment at the Bauhaus University in Weimar is now an integral part of Jena's cityscape with over 22 visible projects on the district heating pipes.

Jena's Lord Mayor Thomas Nitzsche: "For 20 years now, the veins of Jena have shown that district heating pipes can be much more than just a technical facility for supplying energy to a city. The bold change of perspective has made a virtue out of the ‚necessity‘ of infrastructure and turned Jena's cityscape into something special. I wish the initiators and creators many new ideas and many more successful years in the future.

So far, more than 900 people and around 40 institutions have been involved in and on the district heating lines as part of the individual projects.  

City Utilities Managing Director Claudia Budich:

In addition to environmentally friendly district heating, the arteries of Jena also transport the creativity of the city's citizens, creating places of art, culture and relaxation along the district heating route. While the future of the long-distance pipelines was still uncertain two decades ago, today they are the central infrastructure of the future for us. District heating is the cornerstone of an efficient and socially acceptable heat transition.

Through the further expansion and densification of the district heating network by Stadtwerke Energie in various districts of Jena, the "veins" will continue to grow in the long term and help to make the city's district heating supply climate-neutral.

Photo competition as the first anniversary campaign 

The focus of the Jubilee of the Veins of Jena will be on the places that line up like a string of pearls along the long-distance pipelines. The anniversary program includes a photo competition about the designed pipes, which starts immediately and offers prizes such as an exclusive tour of the Jena city canal or a voucher for photo equipment. In addition, the successful cooperation and the staying power of the team led by architect Dana Kurz will be celebrated with a festival. All interested parties and companions are invited to Jena's StadtLab am Nonnenplan from June 12 to 14 to experience a mixture of exhibition, expert talks and party. In addition, all citizens can contribute their wishes for the future design of the Fernwärmetrasse.  

An overview of all the projects of Jena's arteries can be found here.

Further information on the Jubiläums photo competition 

Facts and figures about the veins of Jena:  

• The Veins of Jena project began in 2004 with a workshop held by students from the Bauhaus University Weimar in Jena's Paradise.
• A total of 22 design projects and 5 temporary accompanying projects have been realized since then.
• The project „Golden Gate“ in the area of the entrance to Paradise at the old Paradise railway station was awarded the Thuringian Landscape Architecture Prize in 2009.
• The arteries of Jena connect the city center with the southern residential areas of Winzerla, Göschwitz and Lobeda. 
• With a total pipeline length of 120 kilometers, around 34,000 Jena households are supplied with district heating via the arteries of Jena.
• Around 10% of the lines with a total length of 12.5 kilometers are above ground.
More than 900 people and around 40 institutions have been involved in and on the district heating lines so far.