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Museumsinsel is a small island in the Spree River. The 'island of museums' not surprisingly gets its name from all of the museums located on it.
This UNESCO World Heritage Sight is one of the most important complexes of museums in the world. When it was discovered that the island was slowly decaying, a massive renovation/restoration project commenced (back in 1992) and is due to be completed by 2010. When finished, all of the museums will be linked by an 'architectural promenade'.
The museums are gradually being re-opened after restoration. The main museum here is the Pergamon Museum, which is one of the most important museums of ancient art and architecture in the world.
You can also visit the Altes Museum, which looks a little like a Greek temple and houses ancient art and sculpture from Rome & Greece, or the Alte Nationalgalerie with its collection of 19th century European art.
The island is also home to Berliner Dom and the remains of the Royal Palace, along with some lovely gardens and some shady places to rest your museum-weary feet. Leave a Comment
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 The TV Tower is not far from
Museum Island. by Kakapo2
The architecture, and even more the agglomeration of such a lot of glorious buildings on such a small space, is breathtaking. Five architects worked on the design of this outstanding ensemble which got World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1999. Restoration and modernisation works are still being executed, and they estimate this will be going on until 2010. You will not be bothered until then, so much already looks absolutely fantastic.
Building the ensemble took a hundred years until 1930. The impressive Berliner Dom (Berlin Dome) sits amongst the museums and enhances the beauty of everything. The highlight of all museums is Pergamonmuseum, built around the Pergamon Altar, found in Turkey.
When talking about Museumsinsel we should not forget to mention that also the City Castle (Stadtschloss), main residence of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was located there. Despite protests the GDR regime ordered the demolition of the palace in 1950/51. Today you see a vast area called Schlossplatz. Discussions are going on if the castle should be reconstructed. Beautiful Schlossbrücke across the river Spree connects Schlossplatz and Unter den Linden. Statues made of white Carrara marble adorn the granite pillars.
The northern part of the island once was a swamp, so no buildings were constructed there in the Middle Age. The area was reinforced by gravel in 1825, and the first museum was built on pillars.
If you cross one of the Spree bridges after the Dome Nikolaiviertel and Alexanderplatz are within easy reach. Phone: (030) 20 90 55 77Directions: S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S75, S9, station Hackescher Markt U-Bahn U8, station WeinmeisterstraßeWebsite: www.smb.spk-berlin.de
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 Bode-Museum, at the northern
tip of the island. by Kakapo2
The other museums:
Altes Museum:
Built by famous Karl Friedrich Schinkel from 1825 to 1830, a masterpiece of neo-classical architecture. It has a 87 metre high portico supported by 18 Ionic columns. Behind them the red marble which was used for the construction is visible.
It is one of the first custom-built museums, constructed to host the royal collection of paintings and antiquities. Today it hosts the etching cabinet and temporary exhibitions.
The most famous exhibit (until 2009) is the the more than 3000 years old sculpture of the Egyptian Queen Nofretete.
Alte Nationalgalerie:
This gallery, designed by Friedrich August Stüler and finished by Johann Heinrich Strack from 1867 to 1876, was reopened in December 2001. Here you find German and European paintings (including the French impressionists Monet, Manet and Renoir) and sculptures from the 19th century, as well as an antique temple. The equestrian sculpture on the outside staircase depicts King Friedrich Wilhelm IV who had the idea to create the Museum Island.
Bode-Museum:
This rounded building at the very northern tip of the island, built by Ernst von Ihne from 1898 to 1904, was reopened in 2006. It hosts collections of Late Antiquity and Byzantine art. The museum is named after the director of the Berlin museums at the time.
Neues Museum
This was still not finished when we visited in August 2007. It is planned to reopen in 2008.
All museums on Museumsinsel open daily 10am – 6pm, Thursday 10am – 10pm
Entry Fee 8 Euro Phone: (030) 20 90 55 77Directions: S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S75, S9, station Hackescher Markt U-Bahn U8, station WeinmeisterstraßeWebsite: www.smb.spk-berlin.de Other Contact: Guided tours phone (030) 266 36
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Museuminsel
An idea of Friedrich Wilhelm IV to create a “Sanctuary of Art & Science”
on an island surrounded by the river Spree. Another hot tip on what to do in Berlin.
The Museums of Berlin's Museuminsel
Altes Museum (The Old Museum)
Neues Museum (The New Museum)
Alte Nationalgalerie (The Old National Galerie)
Das Pergamon Museum (The Pergamon Museum )
The Pergamon was very recommended by the guide.
It houses Roman sculpture and architectural treasures.
Berliner Dom
A Protestant counterweight to the St-Pieters Basilica in Rome
The baroque building with Italian Renaissance is 114m long and 73m wide and was builded between 1894 and 1905.
For sure an other eye catcher in Berlin Leave a Comment Directions: U-Bahn: Friedrichstraße
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Hordes of tourists flock into this museum, and you will understand when you stand in front of the most impressive and huge Pergamon altar, found in Turkey by the engineer Carl Humann in the 19th century. It took him 20 years to put all the pieces together again. It is a bit like standing in front of one of the temples of the Acropolis in Athens, with the difference that there is a building around the temple, and it is perfectly intact.
The Pergamonmuseum was purpose-built from 1910 to 1930 by Alfred Messels and Ludwig Hoffmann to host this altar.
Already the word “altar” is a little misleading as it is huge. And to imagine what huge means read this: The frieze, adorned by an incredible lot of sculptures, is 113 metres long! The sculptures show the fight of the gods with the giant. The altar from the acropolis of the antique city of Pergamon in Asia Minor.
Other artefacts from Pergamon also hosted in the museum include parts of the Athena Temple.
Further you find Greek sculptures, a Roman gate (the famous Market Gate of Milet from 130 AC, mosaics and a large sarcophagus.
Also the collections of Islamic Art, and art and jewellery from the Middle East and Central Asia are unique in the world. A piece of outstanding beauty is the 30 metre long brick processional way of ancient Babylon with the so-called Lion Paintings.
Everything you can see in this museum is the result of large-scale German expeditions and archaelogical excavations starting at the end of the 19th century.
Open daily 10am – 6pm, Thursday 10am – 10pm
Entry Fee 8 Euro Phone: (030) 20 90 55 77Directions: S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S75, S9, station Hackescher Markt U-Bahn U8, station WeinmeisterstraßeWebsite: www.smb.spk-berlin.de Other Contact: Guided tours phone (030) 266 36
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 Schlossbrucke by diocletianvs
Today the bridge has busy traffic going over it but there is a wide pedestrian lane as well so you can easily stop and admire the beauty of the statues. Leave a Comment Directions: Bus 100, 200
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Schinkel's Neoclassical Altesmuseum stands at the head of the Lustgarten and is only the first of the complex of museums that are concentrated on Museumsinsel. Altesmuseum hides 19th century paintings while Alte Nationalgalerie behind it has 19th century state art collection. Perhaps the most famous exibits are on display inside the Pergamonmuseum, that looks like Babilonian temple from the outside and hides the Pergamon Altar inside. Behind the railway tracks lies the Bodemuseum with big collection of sculptures.
All museums are now undergoing a vast modernisation programme that is due to be finished by 2010 when this complex will get some new links between the different buildings. Leave a Comment
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 Museum of Antiquities by pili
The perfect place to go in a rainy day.- Leave a Comment Directions: U-Bahn: Friedrichstraße
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The Pergamon Museum is the most popular museum on Museuminsel. You didn't think that so many tourists would queue up and spend their morning or afernoon in a museum dedicated to ancient Babylonian archeology, but it's a fact.
When I entered I understood why this museum manages to attract so many visitors: the exhibits are stunning. You don't need to have a university degree in Babylonian archeology to admire the deep blue colors and exotic animal reliefs of the huge Ishtar gate. Walking through this gate you feel like you are in a time machine, walking down the processional way of ancient Babylon in 580 BC. Most of the other Babylonian exhibits are on a much smaller scale, although the stories associated with them cover all aspects of life in ancient Babylon. The audio guide is a good idea, but I found it too long and too detailed. At the time of my visit the exhibition rooms were packed with visitors who were standing still, hardly moving around, listening to the lengthy explanations on their audio guides. It does not do much for the flow of the visit through the museum.
It was refreshing to go out again unto the main lobby, hop with the time machine to ancient Greece and Asia Minor, and admire the huge Pergamon altar (2nd century BC). The altar took 20 years to rebuild from its pieces. When I climbed the steps of the altar I felt like I was on site in ancient Bergama, and not in a museum in 21st-century Berlin. When you reach the top of the stairs you see the big and impressive frieze, which tells a story from the Greek mythology with amazing life-like figures. The section of classical antiquities also contains the impressive market gates of Miletus, and much more.
The third part of the museum is dedicated to Islamic art.
So, you don't need to be a history expert or an archeology buff. Visit the Pergamon Museum and be overwhelmed by the great feats of the ancient world!
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The Altes Museum or Old Museum opened its doors to the public in 1830. The building which was designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Modelled on the Greek Stoa in Athens with its Classical 18 colonnade façade. The building was badly damaged during WW2 and reconstruction work continued until 1966. At present the museum houses a collection of Greek and Roman antiquities. One of the biggest attractions at the museum is the bust of Queen Nefertiti, discovered in 1912 and dating back to 1360 B.C. that has pride of place on the ground floor. The museums world famous collection contains altogether some 45,000 objects. Entrance is free between 6pm & 10pm on Thursdays. Leave a Comment Phone: +49 - (0)30 - 20 90 55 44Directions: U-Bahn: U6 (Friedrichstraße) S-Bahn: S1, S2, S25 (Friedrichstraße); S5, S7, S75, S9 (Hackescher Markt) Tram: M1, 12 (Am Kupfergraben); M2, M4, M5, M6 (Hackescher Markt) Bus: TXL (Staatsoper); 100, 200 (Lustgarten); 147 (Friedrichstraße)Website: http://www.egyptian-museum-berlin.com/a01.php?fs=0.5
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