Berlin’s new cultural heart

Berlin has always been renowned for its rich cultural life. Its centrepiece of the historical Mitte district is home to many outstanding sights – not just the Museum Island, but no less than two opera houses and six major theatres as well as innumerable galleries and arts venues. Now, a series of new cultural projects are being developed, often just a few minutes’ walk apart, lending a new quality to this fascinating district. Here, we offer an overview of major recent and planned cultural projects in the heart of Berlin.

Samurai Museum 

Especially the district between Oranienburger Tor and Rosenthaler Platz is developing more vibrantly. Since May, the Samurai Museum presents one of the world’s largest collections of samurai art, weapons and artefacts outside Japan. On around 1500 square metres, works by contemporary Japanese artists will be shown together with the armour, helmets, masks and swords of these legendary warriors. The opening of the renowned Swedish photo museum "Fotografiska" in the former Tacheles is expected to follow next year.

"Stabi Kulturwerk" - The Museum of the Berlin State Library

The historic house of the Berlin State Library (Staatsbibliothek Berlin) Unter den Linden has also been extensively modernized in recent years and is now open to the public again. The Berlin State Library is one of the most important libraries in the world, and among other things, the original scores of Ludwig van Beethoven's famous 9th Symphony are kept there.

On 13 July, the "Stabi Kulturwerk", a new museum, was opened in the rooms of the State Library on Unter den Linden. In the future, permanent and temporary exhibitions will be shown there in an area of around 1,000 square meters.

Humboldt Forum: Berlin's new forum for culture is completed

A few months ago, Berlin's new forum for culture, art and science opened in the heart of Germany’s capital city. Since then, the Humboldt Forum has become a public favorite. In cutting edge interactive exhibitions, visitors can explore continents, regions, lifeworlds and ideas – on around 30,000 square metresacross five floors.

On the second and third floors, the Ethnological Museum and Asian Art Museum collections present precious art from Africa, Asia, Oceania and America. While previously only the rooms of the west wing were accessible, the east wings of both museums have also been open to the public since 17 September. 

Monument to Freedom and Unity

The Monument to Freedom and Unity is due to be inaugurated expected in the course of the year 2024. Set opposite the Humboldt Forum’s west portal, the 50-metre-long kinetic memorial is dedicated to the Peaceful Revolution and the fall of the Wall in 1989. In 2020, work started on the broad base to hold a gigantic bowl constructed of steel components. This walk-on ‘see-saw’ social sculpture is to be open to the public. When one half of the bowl has twenty people more on it than the other, the bowl will start to move, slowly and gently. The inauguration ceremony is scheduled for 2024.

The Schlossfreiheit staircase

At the Spree Canal’s waterside promenade in front of the Humboldt Forum’s west portal, the Schlossfreiheit, a vast 38-metre-wide open-air staircase, will be built over the next two years. The staircase is the first building phase of the Fluss Bad Berlin future project and scheduled to be completed in 2024.

Berlin’s Cathedral Church: Renovating the Hohenzollern Crypt

With ninety internments, the Hohenzollern Crypt in Berlin’s Cathedral Church(Berliner Dom) is the most important dynastic sepulchre in Germany. Reflecting stylistic eras in art history across several centuries, the richly decorated coffins and ornate sarcophagi are the last resting places of princes and kings from the Hohenzollern dynasty. The extensive refurbishment and conversion work includes a new information centre and making the crypt fully wheelchair accessible. A stronger focus will also be put on the historical links between the Hohenzollern crypt and the former Hohenzollern City Palace once standing on the nearby Humboldt Forum site. The Hohenzollern Crypt is scheduled to reopen in spring 2024.

German Historical Museum (DHM): Refurbishment of the Zeughaus

The baroque Zeughaus, originally an arsenal and now home to the German Historical Museum, is among the most impressive buildings on Berlin’s famous Unter den Linden boulevard. Today, the Zeughaus presents around 2000 years of German history. From mid-2021, the Zeughaus will be closed for around four years for a major renovation. The façade of the 300-year-old baroque building will be restored, and the interior given a modern air conditioning system. After completion of the work, the Zeughaus is set to reopen in late 2025. During the refurbishment, the Pei Building, the museum’s modern exhibition hall supplementing the historic Zeughaus, will remain open to the public.

The Pergamon Museum: Refurbishment of the Pergamon Altar Hall and the North Wing

Berlin’s Pergamon Museum (Pergamonmuseum)attracts more visitors than any other museum in the city. Under the Museum Island Master Plan, it is now being refurbished in a series of stages. The Roman monumental altar, nearly 2000 years old, is the heart of the museum. At present, the Pergamon Altar Hall and the North Wing, with other exhibits from the Collection of Classical Antiquities, are both closed. The original Pergamon Altar covered an area of around 1200 square metres. The sculpted pedestal frieze panels on show, each two-and-a-half-metres high, depict the spectacular battle between the Olympian gods and the Giants. In 2025, the refurbished and modernised Altar Hall and North Wing will be reopened. Until then, the Pergamon Museum. The Panorama, a 360-degree exhibition directly opposite the Museum Island, offers a fascinating taste of the Pergamon Altar experience.

The Museum of the Twentieth Century

Over the coming years, the Museum of the Twentieth Century is to be constructed close to Potsdamer Platz in the heart of Berlin. Located between the New National Gallery (Neue Nationalgalerie) and Berlin’s renowned Philharmonic Hall, the new museum represents a major step towards completing the Kulturforum. After opening, the museum will have around 9000 square metres of exhibition space to show major works from the second half of the twentieth century. The museum has been designed by the Swiss architectural office Herzog & de Meuron. The striking interior design includes two intersecting boulevards inviting visitors to explore the museum. On two different levels, the boulevards run north-south and east-west, opening up diverse views of the exhibition rooms and the art works. The museum is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

The House of One

A new and unique multifaith centre, the House of One will be constructed on the old St. Peter’s Church site going back around 800 years to when Berlin was founded. Perfectly capturing the project’s vision, the new building by the Kuehn Malvezzi architectural office has a large central domed hall linking the prayer rooms of the three major monotheistic religions – a mosque, a synagogue, and a church. The House of One is a house of worship and interfaith dialogue between religious communities, a place of peaceful coexistence, tolerance, and mutual understanding. The festive groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 27 May 2021, and the building is expected to be completed in three to four years. The opening is scheduled for 2026.

„Petri Berlin. Discover archaeology“ – New archaeological house on Petriplatz square

With excavations on Petriplatz uncovering traces of the city’s history as a medieval settlement, the square is ideal for Berlin’s newvisitors centre for archaeological sites: „Petri Berlin. Discover archaeology“.. The interactive displays in the multi-story modern building take real-life examples to explain archaeological processes, from excavating an object to restoration and archiving. Uniquely, with the Archaeological House also an archaeological site under excavation, the archaeologists’ tasks can be presented in showcase workshops. The Archaeological House will not only also exhibit archaeological finds, but offer events and seminars in a vibrant forum of exchange between experts and the general public. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 2024.

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