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Photo: Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
There are three huge collections housed within this grand building: the Collection of Classical Antiquities, the Museum of Near Eastern Antiquities and the Museum of Islamic Art. The Pergamon Museum was the last museum built on Museumsinsel (Museum Island) and was intended to house the great acquisitions brought to Germany by archaeologists of the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The museum's best-known attraction is the Pergamonsaal. The Pergamon Altar (165 BC), from the eponymous Asia Minor city-state, is three stories high and served as the entrance gate to an entire complex. It is astounding both because of its size and extremely precise detail, especially in a frieze which shows the gods battling giants. The entire room is the same colour as the building's stone, making the details on the frieze section stand out even more. Facing the stairs, on the left hand side of the room there is a small-scale model of the altar which allows the viewer to see where the frieze segments would have been mounted. A 1:300 scale model of Pergamon city is on the right side of the room. The monumental market door of Milet has just been restored.
Every first Sunday of the month, many museums in Berlin are free of charge. Sometimes a reservation is necessary in advance. For more information, see Museums Sonntag Booking.
Since 2018 there is also a huge 360° panorama of Pergamon in another museum building, which is included in the Pergamon-only ticket.
The Pergamon Museum is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin, Germany. It was built from 1910 to 1930 by order of Emperor Wilhelm II and according to plans by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann in Stripped Classicism style. As part of the Museum Island complex, the Pergamon Museum was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 because of its architecture and testimony to the evolution of museums as architectural and social phenomena.
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Old National Gallery
Specializes in 19th-century painting and sculpture; Monet, Manet, Cézanne, C. David Friedrich and other important 18th- and 19th-century artists are well-represented.
The museum’s treasures include the sculpture collection with works of art from the middle ages to the 18th century. The Bode museum is best known for its Byzantine art collection and the coin cabinet.
The smallest municipal theatre in Berlin. It was an important venue for contemporary theatre in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Nowadays its program continues with its political critique. Next to productions of classics, it has a big focus on new and contemporary writing and productions. It aims at being open to anyone regardless of their background. Sometimes plays the 3 Pennys Opera by Brecht.
The main floor houses the antiquities collection in an ongoing exhibit called "Neue Antike im Alten Museum" (New Antiquities in the Old Museum). Directly through the front door, entering from the Lustgarten (Pleasure Garden, now under reconstruction), there is a domed rotunda with red and white cameos, Greek-style, with statues of the gods. To reach the Hildesheim silver collection, go to the back of the rotunda, turn left, walk through the long gallery and turn left into a small room at the end.
German Historical Museum
German historical museum covering everything from pre-history up to the present day. One can spend many, many hours here! The building from 1695/1730 was the Zeughaus (Arsenal) until 1876.