Museum Island

 

Berlin’s Museum Island, situated in the middle of the Spree, is one of the world’s most famous cultural ensembles—and at the same time a reflection of the city’s history. For a long time, unlike other European capitals, Berlin had hardly any cultural highlights until what is now called Altes Museum opened in 1830. In the decades that followed, the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Bode Museum, and finally the Pergamon Museum emerged as true architectural masterpieces, making art and history accessible to all. But not everything was permanent: the first Pergamon Museum was demolished shortly after its completion, and the Alte Nationalgalerie remained a ruin for decades after World War II. Since 2008, the Pergamon Museum has been undergoing extensive renovation; another example of Berlin’s famous never-ending construction sites. Where kings and emperors once resided in the City Palace we now find the Humboldt Forum: a replica of the City Palace that offers space for various collections and museums. Thus, the Spree Island has become a place where the will to build, chaos, and culture converge in a typically Berlin way.

1 - REMBRANDT HARMENSZOON VAN RIJN (1606–1669), known by his first name, is one of the most famous Baroque artists. His “Self-Portrait with a Velvet Cap” is not on display on Museum Island, but in the Picture Gallery. Rembrandt produced around 100 self-portraits over the course of his life.

2 - The life-size PRINCESSES GROUP, created between 1795 and 1797 by the sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow, depicts the future Queen Luise and her sister Friederike as young women. The sculpture is on display at the Alte Nationalgalerie, and a miniature version of it is a popular souvenir.

3 - IN SUMMER (1868) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir depicts the painter’s girlfriend, Lise Tréhot—whom he painted more than 20 times—on a summer day against a backdrop of lush greenery. The work is on display at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin. Renoir was one of the most significant painters of the Impressionist movement and created around 6,000 works.

4 - Edvard Munch (1863–1944) gained international fame in 1892 through his scandalous exhibition in Berlin. He lived and worked in the city on numerous occasions, where he found a network of progressive artists and intellectuals. THE SCREAM (1893–1910), which heralded the dawn of Expressionism, is the Norwegian painter’s most famous work.

5 - The treasures of Museum Island are alluring. The theft of a 100-kilogram GOLD COIN from the Bode Museum’s numismatic collection in 2017 was spectacular. Although some of the perpetrators were arrested and convicted, the coin was never recovered.

6 - KÄTHE KOLLWITZ (1867–1945) was a Berlin-based sculptor and graphic artist, known for her socially critical works on poverty, war, and loss. She lived and worked in Berlin for many years and had a lasting impact on the German art scene. Today, her work can be admired at the Käthe Kollwitz Museum in Berlin.

7 - The “BUST OF NEFERTITI” (c. 1340 B.C.) depicts the Egyptian queen in idealized beauty and is one of the most famous works of art from antiquity. It was discovered in 1912 and brought to Berlin by the entrepreneur and patron James Simon. Today, it is the centerpiece of the Neues Museum.

8 - SABINE LEPSIUS (1864–1942) was a Berlin portrait painter of the late 19th century. In her “Self-Portrait” (1885), she presents herself as a self-assured artist. Only a small portion of her work has survived, as she primarily painted Jewish people and these portraits were destroyed or lost during World War II.

9 - Arnold Böcklin’s THE ISLAND OF THE DEAD (1883) is one of the most famous works of Symbolism. Böcklin created five versions of the painting, the third of which is on display at the Alte Nationalgalerie.

Did you know …
… that Museum Island has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999—making it one of the few museum landscapes worldwide with this status.