Berlin Museum Island

A "temple city of the arts" lies in the centre of Berlin on an island in the River Spree. The Old Museum designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel and built in 1830 was the first building on Berlin Museum Island and the first public museum in Prussia. Then followed the New Museum in 1859, the Old National Gallery in 1876, the Bode Museum in 1904 and the Pergamon Museum in 1930. The only collection of museums of its kind in the world with its five temple-like buildings houses treasures from six thousand years of the history of mankind. At the heart of the museum scene in Berlin and the largest cultural investment project in Europe, Berlin Museum Island became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. The Old National Gallery with masterpieces from the 19th century reopened in December 2001. The spectacular reopening of the Bode Museum in October 2006 with its collections of sculptures and Byzantine art became an unexpected hit with the public. In the coming years, the remaining buildings on Museum Island will be gradually restored and remodelled with a new spacious, central entrance area and underground connecting passages. This unique collection of museums will then exhibit a cultural and historical panorama in all its glory, spanning from Ancient Egypt to the end of the 19th century, from Nefertiti and the Pergamon altar to the German and French impressionists.