Museum Island

The Museum Island in the heart of Berlin is a special collection of five institutions. The entire structure is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The world-famous Museum Island can be found in the center of Berlin, between the Spree River and the Spree Canal. The five museums draw millions of tourists annually to view their extensive collections, which include everything from antiquity to the late nineteenth century. The historic buildings on Museum Island are among the most stunning examples of Berlin’s architecture, making a visit to the museum itself an experience in itself.

Berlin’s Museum Island is home to some of the continent’s finest museums. The remarkable architectural ensemble in the city’s core was designed by a team of five architects. In 1930, construction was completed. Over three million people each year agree that the museum’s structures and exhibitions are both must-sees.

Visitors can explore the galleries on their own or as part of a guided tour, and the displays showcase objects and artefacts from prehistory to the 19th century. Since 1999, Museum Island has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its repair has been ongoing ever since. The James Simon Gallery, the brand-new welcome centre, is open and ready to welcome guests. It is expected that four of the five museums on Museum Island can be reached from this location.

Museum Island was conceived from the start as an urban destination where people could relax and enjoy works of art from a wide variety of periods and styles. The Colonnade Courtyard has a dual purpose: as a pleasant public garden where people can relax, and as a venue for sculptures designed to pique visitors’ interest in the rich holdings of the Alte Nationalgalerie. The Colonnade Courtyard serves both a museum and a park in one convenient location.

Here is a list of museums on Museum Island:

• When the Altes Museum (Old Museum) was established on August 3, 1830, it was known as the Königliches Museum until 1841, when it was renamed. Karl Friedrich Schinkel ordered the museum to be finished.
• The Neues Museum (New Museum) was completed in 1859, based on designs by Friedrich August Stüler, a Schinkel pupil. It was destroyed during World War II but was reconstructed for the Egyptian Museum of Berlin under the direction of David Chipperfield and reopened in 2009.
• The Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) was built in 1876 to house a collection of 19th-century art donated by banker Joachim H. W. Wagener. It was also designed by Friedrich August Stüler.
• The Bode Museum, located on the island’s northern tip, was established in 1904 and was previously known as the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum. The sculpture collections, as well as late Antique and Byzantine art, are on display.
• In 1930, the Pergamon Museum was established. It houses a number of restored massive and historically important structures, including the Pergamon Altar and Babylon’s Ishtar Gate.
• The Humboldt Forum, which opened in 2020 in the Berlin Palace opposite the Lustgarten park, will house the Ethnological Museum of Berlin and the Museum of Asian Art, both of which are successor institutions to the Ancient Prussian Art Chamber, which was established in the mid-16th century and was also housed in the Berlin Palace.