Still an Island
Back when Berlin was still divided, the Museumsinsel was an island in two senses. Cordoned off from the West, it was a central component of East Berlin’s museums. A number of the objects displayed there belonged to “partial collections”, whose “twins” were to be found in the corresponding museums in the west of the city. But the Vorderasiatisches Museum – along with the Münzkabinett – only existed in the Eastern sector. With the reunification of the museums, the Museumsinsel underwent major restructuring processes.
The ensemble of buildings on the island – which has since been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO – is made up of the Altes Museum, the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Bode-Museum and the Pergamonmuseum. Today, it is home to the Antikensammlung, the Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, the Münzkabinett, the Museum für Islamische Kunst, the Vorderasiatisches Museum, the Ägyptisches Museum, the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte and the Alte Nationalgalerie. After the reunification of Germany, a process of restoration and refurbishment was launched involving all the elements of the buildings on the island, in accordance with the Museuminsel Master Plan.
The Museums at Museumsinsel in Berlin Mitte, 1990.
Postcards from the SMB (East), 1987.
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Participate now!View from the front stairs of the Altes Museum over the Lustgarten to the Staatsratsgebäude of the GDR, 1986.
General renovations at the Neues Museum, 1990.
Workers during renovation work in the Alte Nationalgalerie, 1998.