Pergamon Museum, Berlin
Posted On March 16, 2011
Nestled on the Berlin’s famous Museum Island where even the Bode museum is situated, the Pergamon Museum is a fabulous site of three sub-museums to be built in 20 years by Alfred Messel as well as Ludwig Hoffmann. These three highlights are the Collection of Classical Antiquities that is also called the Antikensammlung holding the structural halls as well as the wing of sculpture, the Museum of Islamic Art also known as the Museum für Islamische Kunst, and the Museum of the Ancient Near East (Vorderasiatisches Museum). The museum is the home of the original-sized, but renovated monuments like the Market Gate of Miletus, Pergamon Altar, Ishtar Gate, and the Mshatta facade. Due to these domains, the Pergamon museum is among the ideal site of religious art in the nation. No wonder as to why the museum is thee most visited gallery in Germany with around 850,000 people annually.
In its Antiquity Collection collected by the Electors of Brandenburg, you will come across the sculptures that belong to the period between archaic and Hellenistic eras and Greek as well as Roman antiquity art that resides here in form of mosaics, architecture, pottery, bronze jewelry, inscriptions, and sculptures. The top draws here are the 2nd century BC Pergamon Altar holding 371 ft long frieze that reveal the fights of the giants as well as the gods against the Titans and the Roman Gate of Miletus. The former is the Zeus Altar that is so large to cover a room. The most fabulous frieze flanks the base. Do also look for a goddess statue holding a pomegranate that was excavated in south Attica and belong to the period of 575 BC. It was really preserved well and even today, the original paint dots can be seen on her robes. The entire collection is split between the Altes museum and Pergamon Museum.
The Islamic Art Museum houses the 8th to 19th century Islamic artwork right from India to Spain in the south wing. Amidst the carpets, miniatures, illuminated manuscripts, and woodcarvings; the main appealing draw is the Mshatta façade of an early desert palace in current Jordan, which was presented to Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Some of the parts are still in Jordan. Besides this, also look for the unique Aleppo room. In all, here you will see the modern art’s temporary exhibitions that belong to the Islamic world.
At the Middle East Museum that is also known as the Vorderasiatisches Museum, there are found objects from Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian culture along with the reliefs, historical edifices, and jewelry. This is among the largest collections of antiquities that belong to the ancient Persia, Babylonia, and Assyria. Here, the top draw is the Processional Way of Babylon as well as its Ishtar Gate along with the throne hall of King Nebuchadnezzar II. The former two dates back to 580 BC, while the latter is somewhere between 604 and 562 BC.
I would recommend going for the 30-minute tour offered by the Pergamon Museum that is an audio tour in English, which is available at the entrance.
Timings
10 am to 6 pm, except Thursdays when it is until 10 pm
Mondays: closed
Entry fee
€8 per adult above 16
Free for the children
Tip
Come here on the first Sunday of any month for a free entry.
Reaching here
- U-Bahn U6 (Friedrichstraße)
- Tram: M1, M4, M5, M6
- Bus: 100, 200, and 147 (Friedrichstraße)
