50 museums in Berlin to visit

Neues Museum

The New Museum opened its doors again on 17 October 2009. This major work of art, museum and technical history of the 19th century was built according to plans by Friedrich August Stüler. It was badly damaged during the World War II and was lavishly restored under the direction of British star architect David Chipperfield. The Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection and the Museum of Prehistory and Early History with objects from the Collection of Classical Antiquities find their new home here. The Berlin Egyptian Museum possesses one of the most important collections worldwide comprising also many objects from the Amarna period (around 1,340 AC). The bust of Pharaoh Akhn-aton's wife Nefertiti is probably most spectacular exhibit. Other remarkable objects are the portrait bust of Queen Teje and the "Berlin Green Head". Photo: © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Achim Kleuker

Pergamon Museum

The ensemble of the Museums’ Island was completed by the construction of this museum (1910 - 1930) which became the completed most popular of all! Under one roof, the Pergamon Museum houses some of the finest collections worldwide, including the archaeological collections of the Greek and Roman antiques section with the Pergamon altar (closed until 2019), the Middle and Near East section with the Ishtar gate from ancient Babylon as well as the museum of Islamic Art. The visitor sets out on a journey taking him 6,000 years back, through the history of the advanced civilizations of antiquity, some of them famous and well documented, others lesser known, but nonetheless fascinating. The new welcome centre opened its doors in summer 2019. Photo: © SMB / Achim Kleuker

Gemäldegalerie

In this gallery you will find another collection of international importance Berlin can boast to possess: European art from the 13th to the 18th century including paintings by all the famous Italian and Dutch masters like Raphael, Tiziano, Caravaggio, Bruegel, Rubens, Vermeer and Rembrandt . Furthermore the collection, founded in 1830 and systemically enhanced since then, puts emphasis on German late gothic and renaissance painters, above all the works of Dürer, of which more are to be seen at the Museum of Prints and Drawing (Kupferstichkabinett). Six of the 72 rooms are dedicated to a distinguished selection of 18th century painting, presenting works of Canaletto, Watteau, Pesne and Gainsborough. Photo: © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Achim Kleuker

Alte Nationalgalerie

Following the impulse of the Frankfurt national parliament, an artist movement began to call for a museum dedicated to German art. The museum was built from 1866 to 1876 according to plans by Schinkel’s disciple Friedrich August Stüler. The monumental statue in front of the building represents Prussian king Frederick William IV who died in 1860. The gallery’s collection spans the time from the German classical period to early modern painting, comprising romantic, impressionist and expressionist style. Besides the works of famous German painters like Menzel and Liebermann, French impressionists like Monet, Cézanne, Renoir and Manet are also represented. The picture is completed by the sculptures, featuring names like Schadow and Rodin. Photo: © SMB / Maximilian Meisse

Hamburger Bahnhof

One of the world’s finest collection of contemporary art is to be found in a former railway station building of the Berlin-Hamburg trail, closed down in 1884. It was opened as a museum in 1996, after a thorough rehabilitation and extension directed by Berlin architect Joseph Paul Kleihues (1933-2004). On a space of 13,000 m² you will find anything created in the field of contemporary art of the last four decades: sculpture, design, video, music. Of course, artists like Warhol (Mao’s portrait), Rauschenberg, Twombly and Lichtenstein are also represented in the exhibition. Another good reason to visit the “Hamburg Station”: Since September 2004, the extraordinary private collection of Friedrich Christian Flick, with an exhibition space of 3,000 m², is also housed on the ground of the museum and will remain there for the next seven years. In the vicinity, the new Berlin main railway station has just opened. So now it is only a 5 minutes walk to the museum, from station to station. Photo: © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Maximilian Meisse

Neue Nationalgalerie

In a showpiece building of modern architecture, designed by famous architect Bauhaus Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), the National Collections are housed, mainly by artists from the first decades of the 20th century (Art Nouveau is housed in the Alte Nationalgalerie or in the Bröhan Museum), but also by contemporary artists, in order to look at the parallels between these epochs from a new perspective. One of the strengths of the museum is the German Expressionism of the artists of the group "Die Brücke" such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Beckmann, Otto Dix or George Grosz. There are also artist groups like "COBRA", "Spur" and "Zero" as well as "Informal" or "New Realism".. Photo: © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Thomas Bruns

German Historical Museum

The German Historic Museum consists of two buildings: The Baroque Armoury, the oldest and probably finest structure on the Linden avenue, which houses the permanent exhibition and a modern extension, work of the famous American architect L.M. Pei, where temporary exhibitions on topics related to German or European history of the 20th century are shown. The aim of the permanent exhibition in the Berlin Armoury, which used to be a military museum at different stages of its history, is educational, but on a scale that has not been attempted before. More than 8,000 objects illustrate German history, starting from the first century AC until the present day. At present, only the Pei Bau is open for temporary exhibitions.

Berlin Wall Memorial - Bernauer Strasse

An open-air exhibition over a length of 1.4 km was conceived at this historic site on the former border area. On the site stands the last section of the Berlin Wall, which is still intact in its entirety, as was the case with the border fortifications before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The various audiovisual information points provide a better understanding of the history of the division of Germany. Two buildings are also used as a documentation and information centre with a platform to better understand the tragedy of the Berlin division. A must for everyone interested in the history of the Wall and the division. In the Topography of Terror and the East Side Gallery you will also see a section of the Berlin Wall. Photo: © Stiftung Berliner Mauer, Foto J. Hohmuth

Jewish Museum

Although it probably will never be put into reality, Daniel Libeskind’s plan for the new towers on Ground Zero in New York has gained some fame But Berlin’s Jewish Museum is really the architect’s masterpiece. The building already attracted numerous visitors even when the rooms were still empty. Today it houses an excellent exhibition about the long and rich history of Jews in Germany whose presence goes back as far as to the 4th century BC. Since its inauguration in 2001 the Museum has become widely popular with Germans as well as tourists from abroad.
People from all over the world contributed to the collection of mementos by donating their personal documents and objects thus adding life and enabling a more personal approach to the bare facts. In Berlin, Jewish Families played an important part in the development of the city. Most of the times, relations between Jews and Germans were peaceful, until the rise of anti-Semitic ideology and its horrific consequences. The years of the Third Reich, when the Jewish population was diminished from 170,000 in 1930 to only 6,000 at the end of WWII, are also reflected in the exhibition. A museum not to be missed! Photo: © Jewish Museum Berlin, Photo: Günter Schneider

Topography of Terror

On this ground lay the headquarters of central institutions of the nationals-socialist oppressive machinery. In the immediate neighbourhood of Hitler's New Chancellery the Gestapo, SD, SS and the Security Authority of the Reich were located between 1933 and 1945. After the war, only a few ruins remained of the buildings, forgotten in the shadow of the wall. Much later, the foundations of the former prison were excavated, the basement cells where prisoners had been questioned and tortured now lying bare. In the 1980s, a photo and text exhibiton was planned in order to show the history of the place where "germanisation" and mass extermination were planned. Just behind the "topography", lining Niederkirchnerstraße, there is a surviving segment of the Berlin wall.

Your city guide Jean-Pierre Andreae offers city guided tours on the theme of 20th century German history.
Photo: © Stiftung Topographie des Terrors

German Museum of Technology

Close to Potsdamer Platz, this technical cultural forum has its unmistakable location: at the Gleisdreieck on the site of the former Anhalter Güterbahnhof. The large museum park with wind and water mills, smithy and brewery is a natural oasis in the middle of the city. The contemporary architecture of the new building for shipping and aviation blends into the historical site, which has grown since 1874, to form an exciting unity. With the "raisin bomber" on the façade, the extension building sets an important urban accent. The German Museum of Technology conveys a multi-faceted spectrum of old and new technology and its manifold references to the cultural and everyday history of mankind. With its daily demonstrations, visitor activities and guided tours, it is an interactive place of learning and experience. An extensive technical-historical library and the historical archive complete the offer. Text: © SDTB / Photo: Clemens Kirchner

Bauhaus-Archiv

The museum with its characteristic silhouette was built after plans of Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus. It is also a research centre for the Bauhaus movement, definitely 20th century’s most influential school of design. The archive, originally founded in Darmstadt in 1960, moved to Berlin in 1971. Although many famous architects, like Mies van der Rohe whose New National Gallery is just around the corner, emerged from the Bauhaus, it was not intended to be a school of architecture. The goal was to form a new type of artist beyond academic specialisation. Famous painters like Kandinsky and Klee were among the members. According to the ideas of the Bauhaus, the distinction between fine and applied arts, including handcraft which was regarded as the base of any art, should disappear. Besides the permanent exhibition which includes objects from all Bauhaus-promoted branches like ceramics, metalwork, furniture, photography and, of course, painting and architecture. There are also temporary exhibitions.

Charlottenburg Palace

Most of the historic monuments of Prussian history lie in the city centre which formerly belonged to East Berlin. The palace of Charlottenburg is the finest exception. It may seem difficult to imagine that the city of Berlin did not reach yonder the Brandenburg Gate until the beginning of the 20th century. Charlottenburg was an independent and wealthy town, owing its origin to the construction of a summer residence for the elector Frederick III around the year 1700. After he had become king (Frederick I) the structure was amplified and, in 1705, it was given the name of his late wife Sophie-Charlotte. The ensemble was extended under his successors, Frederick the Great (II) in particular. It was seriously damaged by bombings in 1943 and almost pulled down after the end of the war. Luckily, reconstruction was agreed and nowadays we can tell it was worthwhile. You should take your time for a visit of the palace and the gardens, kept partly in French Baroque, partly in English style. Have a look at the chambers of Frederick I and Queen Sophie Charlotte and the Knobelsdorff wing where Frederick II used to lodge.

Knoblauch House

The Knoblauchhaus brings the Berlin Biedermeier to life and gives you an insight into the bourgeois family life of the 19th century with a very beautiful collection of furniture, paintings, porcelain and photography of the Family Knoblauch (needle and needle makers), who built the building in 1759. This house is one of the few preserved houses of this time in Berlin and deserves a free visit (donations are welcome). It is part of the city's museums.

The house is located next to the town hall in the Nikolai quarter, which was rebuilt by the GDR to mark the 750th anniversary of the city of Berlin. In this pedestrian zone you will find many restaurants, souvenir shops and craft shops. You can also visit the Nikolai Church, which is also part of the city's museums.