Berlin: Pergamonmuseum

If you are planning to visit any museums in Berlin that are not related to WWII or the victims of the Nazi regime, get a museum pass. The museum pass is €32 and is good for three days. For some of the museums you will still need to schedule an entrance time but the fee is covered with the museum pass. Any museum about WWII or the people that suffered and died during that time is free to visit.

We only visited two of the museums on Museum Island. We arrived at the Pergamon at 10am and left the second museum at 6pm when they closed – it was a LONG day but good.

Museum Island

The five museums were built between 1834 and 1930 on a small island in the River Spree that runs through Berlin. Yes, the museums were damaged in WWII (and probably WWI as well) and have undergone restoration since then. Museum Island was on the East Berlin side post WWII and some artifacts are still lost to today after the war. Today Museum Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In the colonnade around the museums visitors can see holes in the columns, these are bullet holes. Only the damage that effected the structural integrity was repaired.

Pergamon

I can not properly describe this museum, here is a quote from the Visit Berlin website:

“The three-winged Pergamon Museum by Alfred Messel is the most visited museum in Berlin. It displays the Collection of Classical Antiquities, the Museum of the Ancient Near East and the Museum of Islamic Art. The Collection of Classical Antiquities is one of the most important collections of Greek and Roman art in the world. The most famous work is the Roman Pergamon Altar, whose sculpted frieze depicts the battle between gods and giants. As part of the master plan for Museum Island, the Pergamon Museum is being gradually renovated and a fourth wing will be added. In the course of this renovation, the hall with the Pergamon Altar is expected to be closed until 2027. A further highlight of Roman architecture, the approximately 17-metre-high Market Gate of Miletus, can still be viewed. Also on display are the highlights of the Museum of the Ancient Near East, the Babylonian Ishtar Gate with the Processional Way, and the artefacts of the Museum of Islamic Art.”

The Gate of Miletus and the Ishtar Gate both incredible. These are both recreations with some original pieces, for the Ishtar Gate I believe 20% of the tiles were estivated from the original site. I also loved the Aleppo Room, this was a reception room from a home in Syria with the most fabulous paintings on the panelling. The room is dated from approximately 1009 to 1012.

If you are in Berlin, I highly recommend this museum. It is just fantastic. If you do visit, please note that you will have to check all bags and jackets. Checkout all the beauty and history that this museum holds in my video below. Safe Travels!

Thank you KW Photography for allowing me to use your wonderful photos!

INSTAGRAM│TWITTER│YOUTUBE │PATREON

If you like the banner check out this design and others at Canva!