Berlin's Museum Island is a complex of 5 UNESCO World Heritage museums housing some of the most extraordinary collections in the world: the bust of Nefertiti, the Pergamon Altar, the Ishtar Gate.
Berlin's Museum Island: a journey through the civilisations of the world
Museum Island (Museumsinsel), in the heart of Berlin, gathers five UNESCO World Heritage museums that hold some of the most extraordinary collections in the world. A single day is not enough to visit them all - but the absolute masterpieces are unmissable.
The Pergamonmuseum: Babylon in Berlin
The Pergamonmuseum is the most visited museum in Berlin. Its highlight is the Pergamon Altar (c. 180 BC), transported stone by stone from Turkey at the end of the 19th century: its friezes with the Gigantomachy are considered the pinnacle of Hellenistic sculpture.
Equally astonishing is the Ishtar Gate (575 BC), the monumental gate in blue lapis-lazuli glazed bricks that controlled the entrance to the Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar II. 14 metres high and 30 wide, it is a work of engineering and art that takes your breath away.
Important note: The Pergamonmuseum is partly closed for restoration until 2037. The main rotunda (with the Ishtar Gate) is still open, but the Pergamon Altar is temporarily displayed elsewhere.
The Neues Museum: the bust of Nefertiti
The Neues Museum (Schinkel, 1855, rebuilt by David Chipperfield in 2009) houses the bust of Nefertiti (1345 BC) - one of the most famous portraits in the world. The Egyptian queen, wife of the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten, is depicted with a surprising realism that anticipates the Renaissance by 3,000 years.
The museum also displays important collections of European prehistory and ancient Egypt.
The Alte Nationalgalerie: 19th-century art
The Alte Nationalgalerie (1876) houses the most important collection of 19th-century German painting: Caspar David Friedrich with his romantic, misty landscapes, Adolph von Menzel with scenes of Berlin life, and an important collection of French Impressionism (Monet, Rodin).