Berlin´s highlights 2022

Berlin, January 7, 2022 Welcome to the year 2022 in Berlin! With best wishes for the new year, we look ahead to the highlights the city has to offer. Did you know that new top-class museums such as the renowned Fotografiska, the Samurai Art Museum and a "Grosz Museum" are opening here, that the T-Rex Tristan is returning or that Berlin is getting a spectacular new lookout point at Tempelhof Airport? Join us in looking forward to new sights and events in the German capital and let us inspire you and your readers, listeners or viewers for a trip to Berlin. In addition, Berlin is now also available for your ears: In our current episode of the new podcast "Berlin Unboxed" you can find out why there are so many big orchestras in Berlin - besides countless small ones - like notes in a musical scale.

The  year 2021 was transformative for Berlin with a remarkable number of new developments and venues enriching the cultural landscape of the city. The new Humboldt Forum has been a significant addition to the cultural heart of Berlin and this complex new landmark, which opens up new perspectives on Berlin and the world, should be a must-see for any culture or history enthusiast visiting our city.

We wish you all the best for the new year, especially health and confidence, and look forward to you sharing our enthusiasm for Berlin in the future.

Your visitBerlin media team

PS: You can read our very personal tips on why we are looking forward to 2022 here.



 

Berlin's cultural center in particular is developing dynamically and awaits its guests with new top-class museums in the coming year. Starting in March, the Samurai-Art-Museum will present the art of weapons and blacksmithing of Japanese samurai culture as well as the works of contemporary Japanese artists on around 2,000 square meters in Berlin's gallery mile, Auguststraße.

Former petrol station becomes first George Grosz Museum: In May 2022, the first museum in Berlin to honour the Berlin painter, graphic artist and caricaturist George Grosz will open with its own museum. The location: a converted petrol station from the 1950s in Berlin-Schöneberg on Bülowstraße near Nollendorfplatz. The "Kleines Grosz Museum" will feature works of art by the Berlin painter to whom Dadaism goes back. A place to linger: In addition to a permanent exhibition on his life and work, the museum also shows solo exhibitions and offers an oasis in the middle of the city with a small garden and café.

Further highlights will follow in the fall: The Berlin branch of the renowned Swedish photography museum "Fotografiska" is currently being built in the former rooms of the legendary Tacheles art quarter. The 5,500-square-meter space will not only feature works by world-renowned photographers, but will also serve as a venue for cultural events and creative exchange. In the immediate vicinity, directly at the Humboldt Forum, the new Freedom and Unity Monument with its gigantic walk-in steel shell will commemorate the Peaceful Revolution of 1989 starting in the fall. In 2022, an absolute public favorite will celebrate its return to Berlin: predatory dinosaur Tristan Otto advanced to superstar status within a very short time after moving into the Natural History Museum. For the last three years, the original skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus rex has been a guest in Copenhagen; from 2022, Berlin will once again be Tristan's home. Let's stay on the topic of bones: The Computerspielemuseum presents the Wall of Hardware, the sacred bones of digital culture.

All highlights in Berlin

Berlin vibrates, is an rush. Berlin can be quiet and wild, making nights shine and days pass by on the Spree. The city thrives on and with its diversity, its cultural abundance and the famous "Berliner Mixture". The new platform „Into Berlin“ shows Berlin's cultural diversity and awakens the spirit of discovery. This first mosaic will be completed in the future and illuminate the city's culture from the center to the edges. Learn more

A place for art and culture, for creative industries and large-scale events is being created at the former Tempelhof Airport. The airport Tower with exhibition floor and roof terrace invites you to visit from fall and offers a fantastic 360° panorama over the city.

In addition, we have compiled the most important events in 2022 for you - from special exhibitions to the Berlin Marathon.

Berlin´s most important events in 2022

Beginning of year & spring 2022

While sadly the physical ITB Berlin will not take place in March, many other developments are sending positive signals to the industry. The beginning of the construction of Schlossfreiheit next to the Humboldt Forum will make this public space in the center of Berlin even more attractive to visitors and Berliners alike. A huge 38-metre-wide seating area is being built directly on the Spree, which will create a place to relax and hang out as of 2024. In spring, the Berlin State library will open a special museum on the boulevard Unter den Linden, displaying unique and precious book art at the Staatsbibliothek Treasury. From February 10 to 20 2022, the 72nd Berlinale – the International Film Festival Berlin - will take place. At the same time, the now reopened New National Gallery will display a Gerhard Richter exhibition, on the 90th birthday of the famous German contemporary artist. In May, "The Little Grosz Museum" opens in a historic petrol station in Schöneberg, honouring the Berlin painter, graphic artist and caricaturist George Grosz.

Summer 2022

The summer is expected to bring many exciting events and openings as well. For one, the Käthe Kollwitz Museum will move to a beautiful new location inside the Charlottenburg Palace. Here the drawings, graphic art and sculptures of the world-famous artist will once again be on display in the prestigious theatre building of the Palace. Tristan Otto, the original skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus Rex will return to the Museum of Natural History, where previously he attracted more than 3 million visitors. From June 11 to September 18, the 12th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art will take place in various venues spread around Berlin curated by Kader Attia. Each new edition of this event, which takes place every two years, brings together artists, theorists, and practitioners from different fields to let them enter into a dialogue with the city of Berlin and its public. With the Special Olympics Germany, the Greentech Festival, the Long Night of the Sciences and the Long Night of Museums 2022, Classic Open Air 2022 and the 44th CSD – to name a few highlights - the summer season in Berlin will certainly not be boring.

Autumn 2022

This fall will also hold more than one new highlight in store. Among them is the above mentioned opening of the tower THF - 360° Berlin. The airport tower will open with an exhibition floor and a roof terrace offering unique views over the former Tempelhof airfield. Over the next years, this historic location is going to be further developed into a new creative space. In the fall, the Freedom and Unity Monument is scheduled to be inaugurated. This 50-metre-long kinetic memorial is set opposite the Humboldt Forum’s west portal and dedicated to the Peaceful Revolution and the fall of the Wall in 1989. The Lollapalooza is one of the biggest music festivals in Europe and will take place at the Olympic Stadium Berlin from 24 - 25 September 2022. The same weekend, the 48th BMW Berlin Marathon will once again take place through the streets of Berlin. As every year, we can already look forward to this year’s Festival of Lights with the title "Vision of our future" when famous landmarks and historical places all over Berlin will be colorfully illuminated for a very special week in October.

End of year & winter 2022

While the winter of 2022 still seems very far away, we know that this special time of year always brings even more reasons to visit Berlin. At the end of the year, the Berlin Medical History Museum will reopen after an expansion and modernization period. The unique collection of the museum on the grounds of the Charité leads through 300 years of medical history. From November 3 to 6, the yearly Jazzfest Berlin will take place and introduce contemporary jazz music from all over Europa at various locations throughout the city. As every year, the Christmas season will go hand in hand with beautiful and diverse Christmas markets and seasonal and festive lights throughout the city, as well as show and theater highlights. If you are still searching for more inspiration and reasons for a visit to Berlin in 2022, please continuously check out our event calendar listing the top events of the year. We hope to see you in Berlin soon!

Berlin´s Top-Events

From now on, Berlin is also available for the ears. The new podcast "Berlin Unboxed" by visitBerlin presents stories of the capital and takes listeners to exciting places and introduces inspiring personalities and previously unknown details from Berlin. What did dinosaur researcher Dr. Daniela Schwarz bring back from her trip to Tendaguru Hill in Tanzania? How did chief restorer Toralf Gabsch and his team get the gigantic airboat into the Humboldt Forum? And how does classical music critic Frederik Hanssen judge whether an orchestra has played well or badly? Listen here (currently only available in German).

An initial review of 2021 shows that tourism developed positively in the summer and fall and made a successful restart. In a comparison of major metropolises, Berlin ranked 4th in terms of hotel occupancy from January to November 2021 with 35 percent, just behind Moscow (57%, 1st place), New York (45%, 2nd place) and London (36%, 3rd place). Berlin's best month was October, when hotel overnight stays reached about 80 percent of pre-crisis levels. Our forecasts for 2021 overnight stays overall predict a ten to 20 percent year-over-year increase, but still down about 55 percent from 2019. We'll know more in mid-February, once the year-end numbers are in. Read the New Year's interview with our Managing Director Burkhard Kieker to find out what he expects for Berlin tourism in 2022.

Read the interview with visitBerlin's managing director here.

The sustainability megatrend is particularly easy to live and experience in Berlin: We have therefore compiled tips for a sustainable Berlin trip in a new infographic. You can find even more ideas in our special "Sustainable Berlin".

More information

The Corona pandemic continues to rule the world. We keep track of the current situation in Berlin for you and inform about current rules and what is possible in Berlin. You can find images on our website in the download section and current press information here. You can find even more inspiration in our visitBerlin blog. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.