World Heritage Photos

The Museumsinsel (Museum Island) is a unique ensemble of museums on Spree Island in the centre of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The island is surrounded by the River Spree. The museums on the island were designed and built between 1823 and 1930. They were built to rival the cities of Florence, Paris and London. The Museumsinsel illustrates the development of museum design in the 19th and 20th centuries. Together, the five museums on the island house artefacts spanning a period of more than six thousand years, from Ancient Egypt to European Romanticism. The Altes Museum houses the Collection of Classical Antiquities. The most celebrated artefact in the Neues Museum is the bust of the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti. The Pergamon Museum contains monumental reconstructions of ancient architecture, such as the Pergamon Altar, the Mshatta Façade, the Market Gate of Miletus, the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and the Aleppo Room. The Bode Museum houses Byzantine and Renaissance art, including notable works from the Italian city of Ravenna. The Alte Nationalgalerie is home to works by French Impressionists. Nearly seventy per cent of the museums were destroyed during the Second World War; most of the works of art were stored in bunkers. The reconstruction and renovation of the museums took decades and have restored the Museumsinsel to its former greatness. The monumental Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) was built between 1894 and 1905; it is the only building on the island that is not a museum. The cathedral was severely damaged during the Second World War; following extensive restoration, it was officially reopened in 1993. Besides the Museumsinsel, there are two other UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Berlin: the Berlin Modernism Housing Estates and the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin. Berlin's Museumsinsel (Museum Island) gained status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. World Heritage Art: Nefertiti 

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   Museumsinsel (Museum Island): The Colonnade Courtyard near the Alte Nationalgalerie; in the background the 368-metre-high TV tower (the Berliner Fernsehturm). Museum Island is situated close to the centre of Berlin. The island is surrounded by the River Spree. The five museums on Berlin's Museum Island illustrate the development of modern museum design in the 19th and 20th centuries. Museumsinsel (Museum Island)became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.

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   Museumsinsel, Museum Island Berlin: The Altes Museum (Old Museum) was the city's first museum. It was built in the Neoclassical style between 1823 and 1830. It was totally destroyed during the Second World War and reconstructed between 1950 and 1966. The museum houses the imposing Collection of Classical Antiquities, including the Hildesheim Treasure: the largest collection of Roman silver (first century BC) found outside the frontiers of the Roman Empire.

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   Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin: The Alte Nationalgalerie was opened in March 1876 in the presence of Wilhelm I, the German Kaiser. The museum was severely damaged during the Second World War. The museum was partially reopened in 1949. The restoration of the building took many years; the museum was finally reopened in 2001, marking its 125th anniversary. The collection includes works by French Impressionists such as Édouard Manet and Paul Cézanne.  

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   Museumsinsel (Museum Island): The Bode Museum was designed by Ernst von Ihne and built between 1897 and 1904. The Neo-Baroque museum was heavily damaged in the Second World War; it underwent several stages of large-scale restoration between 1948 and 2006. Following these renovations, the Bode Museum reopened in 2006. The museum houses Renaissance and Byzantine art, as well as a collection of coins and medals. The Bode Museum is situated at the northwestern tip of Museum Island.

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   Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin: The Neues Museum was built between 1843 and 1855. The museum was heavily damaged and partly destroyed in the Second World War. The museum was reconstructed between 1999 and 2009. The three main wings of the museum surround two interior courtyards. The most celebrated artefact of the Neues Museum is the painted limestone bust of the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti. Berlin's Museum Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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   Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin: The Pergamon Museum was built between 1910 and 1930. It was damaged in the Second World War and underwent restoration from 2005 to 2010. It is currently closed again for full-scale restoration until approximately 2037. This vast museum houses Ancient Near Eastern and Islamic Art, as well as original-sized reconstructions of ancient architecture, including the Pergamon Altar, the Aleppo Room, the Market Gate of Miletus, the Mshatta Façade, and the Ishtar Gate, one of the eight gates of the inner city of Babylon.

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   Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin: The Schlossbrücke is a stone arch bridge spanning the River Spree. The bridge was built in the early 19th century and leads to Museumsinsel, an island in Berlin's central Mitte district. The island is surrounded by the River Spree and accessible via a number of bridges. Museumsinsel houses a unique complex of five museums in the centre of Berlin. These museums were designed and built to rival the cultural cities of Paris, Florence and London. It is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the city.

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   Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin: The River Spree; to the right side lies the Lustgarten (the Pleasure Garden) on the Museumsinsel. In the background the enormous tower cranes can be seen next to the Pergamon Museum. A previous renovation of the museum was completed in 2019. Since 2023, the museum has been closed again for restoration until approximately 2037. The Lustgarten is situated in front of the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) and the Altes Museum. The garden remains a popular city park in Berlin.

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   Museumsinsel (Museum Island): The Colonnade Courtyard close to the Alte Nationalgalerie with the green copper dome of Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) in the background. The cathedral is the only building on Berlin's Museum Island that is not a museum. The Hohenzollerngruft (Royal Crypt) lies underneath the cathedral; it is the final resting place of numerous Prussian Kings and members of the House of Hohenzollern, the former imperial dynasty of Germany. The crypt is open to visitors. 

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    Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin: The Imperial Staircase of the Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom). Until the end of the monarchy in 1918, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany and his wife Empress Augusta Victoria would enter the Imperial Box on the upper floor of the cathedral via this staircase. The neo-Baroque cathedral was commissioned by Emperor Wilhelm II and built between 1894 and 1905. The cathedral was severely damaged during the Second World War. Following years of extensive restoration, it was officially reopened in 1993.