Museums in Berlin

   

Wannsee Conference House

The Wannsee Conference House is the site where the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” was created. Chaired by Reinhard Heydrich, the house is now a memorial and museum detailing the  conference, the Holocaust’s history, and the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. It stands as a memorial to the victims and aims to educate visitors about this dark chapter in history. See the Holocaust Memorial page for more images of the site.

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The driveway at the Wannsee Conference House, 2023
Wannsee Conference house

Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial (Stasi Prison)

The Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial​ is a tour with a difference. The site provides an insight into prison life in the former East Germany between 1946 to 1990. If you miss a tour, there is a permanent exhibition which contains 300 photos and nearly 500 artefacts including prison clothes and letters from former inmates. See the “WWII & Beyond” Memorial & Museums page for more images of the site.

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Inside the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, 2015
Site Link

Jewish Museum

Opened in 2001, the Museum tracks social, political and cultural history of the Jewish people in Germany from the middle ages through to the present day. One of the must-do things at the museum is to interact with the installation, Shalekhet ( Fallen Leaves ) by Menashe Kadishman. Over 10,000 faces cut from iron plates are strewn over an enclosed area known as the Memory Void. Walk into the space and listen to the sound that is created.

The Kollegienhaus (1735) which was a hospice before being turned into a museum
The Axis of the Holocaust
The Junction of the Axis of Exile & the Axis of the Holocaust
Shalekhet installation by Menashe Kadishman
A counting table used for money exchange
One of the many exhibitions featuring personal effects
A feature of the old exhibition was the pomegranate tree which contained notess written from visitors
20th century exhibit
"Jews are not served here" a sign from the Nazi period
A dentist sign from the Nazi period
Images from the concentration camps
Portraits of those impacted by the Holocaust
20th century exhibit
Individual stories & experiences
Jewish Museum extension completed in 1992, Berlin 2015
Jewish museum Link

Information Centre under The Memorial to the Dead Jews of Europe

The Information Centre beneath the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe provides an in-depth historical context to the Holocaust. Located directly below the field of stelae, it consists of four themed rooms detailing the persecution and murder of six million European Jews during the Nazi era.

The entrance into the museum
Part of the timeline
Victims of the holocaust
Extracts from letters written by victims
Room filled with victims letters
One of the personal letters from a victim of the persecution
Inside of the room of familes
One of the families featured in the space
Notes from a Rabbi, a victim of the Holocaust
Information Centre

The Topography of Terror

The Topography of Terror is far from an “easy” visit as it looks at the activities of the SS, Gestapo & the Reich Security that existed between 1933-45. The site itself is free and is located on the original land that housed the Gestapo, Reich SS leadership and Reich Security Main Office. A reminder of another period of oppression is the remains of the Berlin Wall. Go but prepare yourself for an experience that will certainly stay with you.

Topography of Terror
Looking along the remains of the Berlin Wall
The wall & foundations
More of the interior exhibits
Inside the museum Kristallnacht section
Another of the exhibits
Wall of Identity cards
One of the cards from the wall
Looking back at the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin (State Parliament)
The Topography of Terror, 2023
Topography of Terror

Museum Island

If you like a good museum or 5, you have definitely hit the jackpot here. The fact that this area is a world heritage site provides an insight into its cultural importance.  The five museums located on the island are

  • Altes (Old) Museum
  • Neues (New) Museum
  • Pergamon Museum
  • Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery)
  • Bode-Museum

Find below, basic information & images from the first four on the list.

Altes (Old) Museum

Opened in 1830 to house the Prussian royal family’s art collection, now houses Greek and Roman art and sculptures. The first site you will see on entering Museum Island and one worth visiting.

Altes Museum, Berlin
Spartan soldiers in the Rotunda, Altes Museum
Greek helmets, 7th & 6th Century BCE, Altes Museum
Spartan soldiers in the Rotunda, Altes Museum
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The Altes Museum, Berlin 2015
Altes Museum

Neues (New) Museum

Houses exhibits from Europe & the Middle East up to the Middle Ages. Best known as the home of Nefertiti.

The entrance to the Neues Museum
Cist grave from Helgoland, Schleswig-Holstein
Helmet of a murmillo (a type of gladiator), 2nd century AD Rome
Beard exhibit
Goldsmiths of Amun, 1428-1350 BCE
Beard exhibit
Burial chamber of Methen, C.2500 BCE
A wall from the burial chamber of Methen, C.2500 BCE
Egyptian sarcophagus room, Neues Museum 2015
Neues Museum

Pergamon Museum

One of the most popular stops on the island. It houses exhibits such as the Ishtar Gate, Market Gate of Miletus & the Processional Way of Babylon. The site will be undergoing extensive renovations through to 2027.

Pergamon Museum
Processional Way Babylon
One of the featured lions on the Processional Way
Orpheus Mosiac
Neo-Assyrian frieze of a lion hunt from the temple of Ashurnasirpal II
Lions from the gate of the citadel of Sam 'al/Zincirli in Turkey. The lion on the right dates to the 10th century BCE
Basalt water basin from Assur, Iraq, 7th Cent.BCE
Market Gate of Miletus
Market Gate of Miletus, 2015
Pergamon Museum

Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery)

19th Century art & sculptures from artists such as Menzel, Monet, Cezanne & Renoir.

Im Wintergarden (In the Conservatory), Manet
The Savage, Paul Gauguin
The Iron Rolling Mill (Modern Cyclopes),Adolph Menzel
Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, 2015
Alte Nationalgalerie

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