Pergamon Museum

Berlin, Germany

The Pergamon Museum was designed by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann and was constructed in twenty years, from 1910 to 1930. The Pergamon Museum houses original-sized, reconstructed monumental buildings such as the Pergamon Altar and the Market Gate of Miletus, all consisting of parts transported from Turkey.

The museum is subdivided into the antiquity collection, the Middle East museum, and the museum of Islamic art. The museum is visited by approximately 1,135,000 people every year, making it the most visited art museum in Germany.

By the time the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum on Museum Island (today the Bodemuseum) had opened, it was clear that the museum was not large enough to host all of the art and archaeological treasures excavated under German supervision. Excavations were underway in Babylon, Uruk, Assur, Miletus, Priene and Egypt, and objects from these sites could not be properly displayed within the existing German museum system. As early as 1907, Wilhelm von Bode, the director of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Wilhelm-Museum had plans to build a new museum nearby to accommodate ancient architecture, German post-antiquity art, and Middle Eastern and Islamic art.

This large three-wing museum had been in planning since 1907; when Alfred Messel died in 1909 his close friend Ludwig Hoffman took charge of construction, which began in 1910. The construction continued during the First World War (1918) and the great inflation of the 1920s. In 1930, the building hosting the four museums opened.

The Pergamon Museum was severely damaged during the air attack on Berlin at the end of the Second World War. Many of the display objects were stored in safe places, and some of the large pieces were walled in for protection. In 1945, the Red Army collected all of the loose museum items, either as war booty or, ostensibly, to rescue them from looting and fires then raging in Berlin. Not until 1958 were most of the objects returned to East Germany. Significant parts of the collection remain in Russia. Some are currently stored in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow and the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg.

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Address

Bodestraße 1-3, Berlin, Germany
See all sites in Berlin

Details

Founded: 1910
Category: Museums in Germany
Historical period: German Empire (Germany)

More Information

www.smb.museum
en.wikipedia.org
www.berlin.de
www.visitberlin.de

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Brandenburg Gate (1,4 km)
Berlin Cathedral (0,4 km)
Altes Museum (0,2 km)
Neues Museum (0,1 km)
Reichstag Building (1,4 km)
Alte Nationalgalerie (0,1 km)
DDR Museum (0,4 km)
Holocaust Memorial (1,5 km)
St. Mary's Church (0,7 km)


Sanssouci Palace (27,5 km)
Spandau Citadel (12,6 km)
New Palace (29 km)
New Chambers (27,7 km)
Church of Peace (27,4 km)
Orangery Palace (28 km)
Cecilienhof Palace (24,8 km)
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp (28,8 km)
Köpenick Palace (14,7 km)

User Reviews

Etan N (3 months ago)
Normally I don't like archeology museums, but this one was definitely amazing. Great to see the reconstructions. Too bad there were some parts that were still under construction. For 18/9 euro (normal/student) you can see all the museums on museum island.
Mauro Amoruso (3 months ago)
Interesting museum about middle-east ancient architecture and sculpture. The price for a normal ticket is quite high (19€), for student it costs 9€. The main attraction, the Pregamon altar is being restructured and won't be available until 2023
Lydia Afriyie (3 months ago)
This Islamic museum is one of a kind. It shows the rich culture of Middle East especially the old Iran and Syria, Iraq and the other Arab countries. Some of the Bible histories of kings are also made alive here. The second floor is an exhibition of Islamic arts and it brings the beautiful of mixed culture between Middle East, Mongolia, China and even Spain through war and colonisation. One day is not enough to unravel the beautiful of this museum and I will definitely go again.
James Liu (3 months ago)
A great museum in which one must visit when coming to Germany. The museum did a great job in organizing the artifacts and the English audio tour of the museum was also very well done. It’s a place where you can stay for a whole day and gain a lot of knowledge.
Jan (4 months ago)
I love this place. Great exhibits well presented and stunning architecture. Will be even better when renovations are complete. Whilst you cannot see all exhibits right now I would still say well worth it
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The Porta Nigra (Latin for black gate) is the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened colour of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as Porta.

The Porta Nigra was built in grey sandstone between 186 and 200 AD. The original gate consisted of two four-storied towers, projecting as near semicircles on the outer side. A narrow courtyard separated the two gate openings on either side. For unknown reasons, however, the construction of the gate remained unfinished. For example, the stones at the northern (outer) side of the gate were never abraded, and the protruding stones would have made it impossible to install movable gates. Nonetheless, the gate was used for several centuries until the end of the Roman era in Trier.

In Roman times, the Porta Nigra was part of a system of four city gates, one of which stood at each side of the roughly rectangular Roman city. The Porta Nigra guarded the northern entry to the Roman city, while the Porta Alba (White Gate) was built in the east, the Porta Media (Middle Gate) in the south, and the Porta Inclyta (Famous Gate) in the west, next to the Roman bridge across the Moselle. The gates stood at the ends of the two main streets of the Roman Trier, one of which led north-south and the other east-west. Of these gates, only the Porta Nigra still exists today.

In the early Middle Ages the Roman city gates were no longer used for their original function and their stones were taken and reused for other buildings. Also iron and lead braces were broken out of the walls of the Porta Nigra for reuse. Traces of this destruction are still clearly visible on the north side of the gate.

After 1028, the Greek monk Simeon lived as a hermit in the ruins of the Porta Nigra. After his death (1035) and sanctification, the Simeonstift monastery was built next to the Porta Nigra to honor him. Saving it from further destruction, the Porta Nigra was transformed into a church: The inner court of the gate was roofed and intermediate ceilings were inserted. The two middle storeys of the former gate were converted into church naves: the upper storey being for the monks and the lower storey for the general public. The ground floor with the large gates was sealed, and a large outside staircase was constructed alongside the south side (the town side) of the gate, up to the lower storey of the church. A small staircase led further up to the upper storey. The church rooms were accessible through former windows of the western tower of the Porta Nigra that were enlarged to become entrance doors (still visible today). The top floor of the western tower was used as church tower, the eastern tower was leveled, and an apse added at its east side. An additional gate - the much smaller Simeon Gate - was built adjacent to the East side of the Porta Nigra and served as a city gate in medieval times.

In 1802 Napoleon Bonaparte dissolved the church in the Porta Nigra and the monastery beside it, along with the vast majority of Trier"s numerous churches and monasteries. On his visit to Trier in 1804, Napoleon ordered that the Porta Nigra be converted back to its Roman form. Only the apse was kept; but the eastern tower was not rebuilt to its original height. Local legend has it that Napoleon originally wanted to completely tear down the church, but locals convinced him that the church had actually been a Gaulish festival hall before being turned into a church. Another version of the story is that they told him about its Roman origins, persuading him to convert the gate back to its original form.

In 1986 the Porta Nigra was designated a World Heritage Site, along with other Roman monuments in Trier and its surroundings. The modern appearance of the Porta Nigra goes back almost unchanged to the reconstruction ordered by Napoleon. At the south side of the Porta Nigra, remains of Roman columns line the last 100 m of the street leading to the gate. Positioned where they had stood in Roman times, they give a slight impression of the aspect of the original Roman street that was lined with colonnades. The Porta Nigra, including the upper floors, is open to visitors.

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