Neues Museum, Berlin

Neues Museum, Berlin

The Neues Museum or New Museum on Berlin’s Museuminsel stands as a monument to 19th century art appreciation, museum design and technological innovation.

The Neues Museum or New Museum on Berlin’s Museuminsel stands as a monument to 19^th century art appreciation, museum design and technological innovation. It displays over 9000 artifacts from the Agyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung (Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection), the Museum fur Vor - und Fruhgeschichte (Museum of Pre-History and Early History), and the Antikesammlung (Collection of Classical Antiquities).

Built in 1841 – 1859 to designs by Friedrich August Stüler, it was commissioned by King Wilhelm IV to be developed as a 'sanctuary for the arts and sciences' to display artifacts which could not be accommodated at the Altes Museum. The Neues Museum was an architectural and engineering innovation at the time, being the first three-storey museum ever built and utilizing new techniques that were a result of industrialization, including the use of the steam engine in construction. Largely destroyed in World War II, the building had to be restored and was reopened in 2009. It retains Stüler’s classicist details, while taking on David Chipperfield’s newer form. The collections are spread over 4 floors, with a simple rectangular ground plan enclosing two courtyards and a central Treppenhalle or stair hall.

The Egyptian Museum which showcases the four millennia of Egyptian and Nubian cultures is spread over the entire lower foyer, and parts of the first and second floors. Explore the Nile Valley habitat, displaying a collection of everyday objects including models of boats, artifacts throwing light on their belief systems and understanding of the Afterworld such as the Sarcophagus of Wennefer – goddess of the necropolis, elaborately decorated anthropomorphic coffins whose occupants were considered as transfigured beings that went on to the realm of Osiris, and hieroglyphics on papyrus. On the ground floor, you can see Thirty Centuries of busts and figurines as well as block statues, and the magnificent Berlin Green Head which demonstrates the progress of sculpture as an art form. The first floor continues on the Egyptian theme with items from Amarna during Akhenaten’s rule, the highlights of which are the portrait of Queen Tiy, and the graceful bust of Nefertiti with a strikingly long and slender neck in the North Dome Hall. It dates back to 1340 BC to Thutmose’s workshop. See the Library of Antiquity, which showcases the written medium of texts and literary works from Ancient Egypt to late antiquity.

The Pre-history and early history collection traces the development of prehistoric and protohistoric cultures from the Paleolithic period through the High Middle Ages. The vestibule displays Heinrich Schliemann’s collection of Trojan antiquities, Nordic mythology paintings, and the Cyprus antiquities collection. Highlights of the first floor comprise Roman artifacts including the bronze statue of Xanten Youth, gallery tracing the Migration Period up to the High Middle Ages, and the South Dome Room which has 2^nd century Lycopolitan statues of Helios and Isis-Fortuna. The second floor has the skull of the Neanderthal from Le Moustier, skull of Holocenic man from Combe-Capelle, and the Bronze-Age Berlin Gold Hat, illuminated in a special showcase to highlight its stamped images of heavenly bodies that illustrates the astronomical knowledge of the era. There are also permanent exhibitions Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age and The Time Machine which illustrate the advancement of humanity and the changing landscape over centuries.