© Bildarchiv Lehnartz, 2000

The Museumsinsel (Museum Island) is a highly frequented tourist spot and at the same time one of the most important areas of high museum density worldwide. In 1900 due to Wilhelm von Bode the art collections became famous and comparable, not to say competitive, to other world- renowned museums such as the Louvre/ Paris, the Uffizi/ Florence or the British Museum/ London. The Museumsinsel is situated in the River Spree and has an area of almost one square kilometer. On this island, over 6,000 years of human history are presented in a temple city of art and culture in the following buildings: Altes Museum, Neues Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie, Bode- Museum, Pergamonmuseum and James Simon- Gallery. In 1999 UNESCO placed Museumsinsel under its protection as a "World Cultural Heritage" site.

Foto ©: smb, F. Friedrich, Berlin

Originally built to house all of Berlin's art collections, the Altes Museum has accommodated the Collection of Classical Antiquities since 1904. Between 1943 and 1945 the building was severely damaged by fire. Reconstruction work continued up until 1966. Since 1998 the Collection of Classical Antiquities has displayed its Greek collection, including the treasury, on the ground floor of the Altes Museum. The Egyptian Museum has, since August 2005, shown its collection on the upper floor where it will remain until it moves to the Neues Museum in 2009.

Foto © smb, F. Friedrich, Berlin

The Pergamonmuseum accommodates three separate museums: the Antikensammlung (Collection of Classical Antiquities), occupying the architectural halls and the sculpture wing, the Vorderasiatisches Museum (Museum of the Ancient Near East) and the Museum für Islamische Kunst (Museum of Islamic Art). The monumental reconstruction of archaeological building ensembles - such as the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus and the Ishtar Gate including the Processional Way of Babylon and the Mshatta Façade - has made the Pergamonmuseum world-famous.

Foto © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Foto: Achim Kleuker, 2009
On October 17^th, 2009 the Neue Museum (“New Museum”) was inaugurated. The building, which is the main work of history of art, museum and engineering of the 19^th century, was constructed by plans of Friedrich August Stülers. During World War II roughly damaged, the Neue Museum was costly restored by the famous British architect David Chipperfiel. Today it is home to the Egyptian Museum including a collection of papyrus and the Museum of Prehistory and Protohistory with a collection of antique objects.

Foto © smb, F. Friedrich, Berlin
Today, the Old National Gallery (Alte Nationalgalerie) is home to 19th century sculptures and paintings. It came into being in 1861, when the banker J.H.W. Wagener bequeathed his art collection to the king and a new building was erected to house it. Having suffered severe damage during the Second World War, the Old National Gallery was partially re-opened in 1949, and in 1955 all of its rooms were once more accessible to the public. Due to the Masterplan Museum Island, which enabled the gallery’s comprehensive restoration from 1998, it re-opened in December 2001 as the first restored building on the Museum Island. The Alte Nationalgalerie is home of 19th century art. The Alte Nationalgalerie is regarded as a comprehensive collection of art of the era between the French Revolution and the First World War, between Classicism and Secessions. The harmonious relationship between the museum building and its collection is unique: designed under the auspices of Heinrich Strack according to plans by August Stüler, the gallery was built in the years 1867 to 1876: the collection it houses today, one of the most beautiful of its kind, originates from the same century. Hence, a tour through the museum offers a profound insight into the art of the 19th century.

© Foto: Atelier Tesar
The Bode Museum, formerly the Kaiser Friedrich-Museum, was built between 1897 and 1904 by the Berlin architect Ernst Eberhard von Ihne. From the outset, the unusual building at the tip of the Museum Island distinguished itself by a grandiose interplay of architecture and exhibits. During the planning phase, the first museum director Wilhelm von Bode purchased historic portals, chimneys, wooden ceilings and door frames from various centuries in Italy, all of which were integrated into the architecture of the building. The Bode Museum opened in 1904. After five and a half years of building work, since October 2006 the Bode Museum once more appears in its full splendour and presents three collections of international rank in its unique architecture: the Sculpture Collection and the Museum of Byzantine Art, the Numismatic Collection, as well as works from the Gemäldegalerie - Old Master Paintings. After the re-opening of the National Gallery in 2001, this represents the second large milestone on the way to the completion of the Master Plan Museum Island. (info: www.smb.spk-berlin.de)

Opening times: The Bode Museum, the Pergamon Museum and the Altes Museum are open to the public seven days a week (10 am to 6 pm, Thurdays 10 am to 10 pm). The Alte Nationalgalerie will continue to be closed on Mondays