The Foundation for the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace () is a German foundation established by the

Government of Germany The Federal Government (, ; abbr. BReg) is the chief Executive (government), executive body of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany and exercises executive power at the Federal level (Germany), federal level. It consists of the Chancellor ...

to create the

Humboldt Forum The Humboldt Forum is a museum dedicated to human history, art and culture, located in the Berlin Palace on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It is named in honour of the Prussian scholars Wilhelm von Humboldt, Wilhelm and Alexa ...

museum in the reconstructed

City Palace, Berlin The Berlin Palace (), formerly known as the Royal Palace (), is a large building adjacent to Berlin Cathedral and the Museum Island in the Mitte area of Berlin. It was the main residence of the Electors of Brandenburg, Kings of Prussia and ...

. It works closely with the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media. Following a resolution passed by the German Parliament, the Bundestag, it receives funding from the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development.

Foundation and history

Formed on 2 July 2009, the foundation appointed its executive board on 1 November of that year. The foundation is the body commissioning the construction of the

, a unique cultural project, and will be the building's future owner. According to its statutes, the foundation pursues exclusively and directly charitable purposes of the promotion of art and culture, education, international sentiments and tolerance in all areas of culture, international understanding, as well as monument protection and preservation. With this in mind, the foundation organizes its own events, exhibitions, readings and much more. With the

Ethnological Museum of Berlin The Ethnologisches Museum Berlin () is one of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz Berlin (), the de facto national collection of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its exhibitions are presently located in the Humbol ...

and the

Museum of Asian Art The Museum of Asian Art () has been a part of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin since 2020. Before its relocation, the museum was sited in the neighborhood of the borough of , Berlin, Germany. It is one of the Berlin State Museums and funded by the Pr ...

, the State of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and the

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

in the

, the Foundation for the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace will provide the

Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (; SPK) is a German federal government body that oversees 27 museums and cultural organizations in and around Berlin, Germany. Its purview includes all of Berlin's State Museums, the Berlin State Librar ...

with suitable premises for use free of charge.

Foundation's purpose

The Foundation for the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace is the owner and builder of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin Castle. The Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning is responsible for construction management for the construction project. The most important tasks of the foundation are beyond that: * Coordinating and bundling the interests of the partners in the Humboldt Forum. * The organization of a permanent exhibition with the theme "Historical Centre Berlin - Identity and Reconstruction". This once-in-a-century project has aroused fascination and discussion from the start. Persuasive, enthusiastic involvement by the general public was the decisive signal for the Bundestag, the German parliament, to back the plans and provide public funds. This highly symbolic construction project, with its unique aim of bringing culture and academia into living discourse, is reliant on the active support of everyone who wants to make a lasting mark on this historic site. In January 2016, the foundation was renamed to ''Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss''.

Construction project

On 4 July 2002, the German Bundestag adopted the recommendation of the International Commission of Experts on the Historical Centre of Berlin - a recommendation that was narrowly passed. The resolution adopted for this purpose provides for the urban redevelopment of the Spreeinsel to be largely based on the historical town plan and for the development of the palace area to be based on the cubature of the former Berlin palace. Furthermore, the German Bundestag followed the commission's recommendation to rebuild the baroque façades on the north, west and south sides as well as in the Schlüterhof.

Reconstruction of the Berlin Palace

On 21 December 2007, the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning announced a competition for the reconstruction of the Berlin City Palace and the construction of the Humboldt Forum Berlin. First prize went to Franco Stella for his design. Structural work began in June 2013. After the reconstruction of the Berlin Palace, the building complex is to house the future Humboldt Forum, which is scheduled to open in 2019.

Contributions

The additional costs of the reconstruction of the baroque façades compared to a contemporary façade design amount to 80 million euros. These 80 million euros will be raised through a private collection of donations. In particular, the non-profit association Förderverein Berliner Schloss has been collecting money since 2004 for the reconstruction of the baroque façades with a broad-based collection of donations. The acquisition of donations for the reconstruction of the historic façades and the construction of the Humboldt Forum is also one of the foundation's tasks. As a cooperation partner of all private institutions that collect donations for the reconstruction of the Berlin Palace, all donations are received by the foundation, which finances the reconstruction of the baroque façades.

Humboldt Forum

The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation will show the non-European collections of its National Museums in Berlin on the second and third floors. On the first floor, the Workshops of Knowledge, the knowledge archives of these museums, some of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, will be housed.

Pictures

File:Berlin-BerlinerSchloss-2-Asio (cropped).JPG, The reconstructed

Berlin Palace The Berlin Palace (), formerly known as the Royal Palace (), is a large building adjacent to Berlin Cathedral and the Museum Island in the Mitte area of Berlin. It was the main residence of the Electors of Brandenburg, Kings of Prussia and Ge ...

File:Wikipedianer im Humboldt Forum-46.jpg, Inner courtyard File:Wikipedianer im Humboldt Forum-1.jpg, East façade File:Wikipedianer im Humboldt Forum-132.jpg, View from the palace to the

Altes Museum The Altes Museum (English: ''Old Museum'') is a List of World Heritage Sites in Germany, listed building on the Museum Island in the Mitte (locality), historic centre of Berlin, Germany. Built between 1825 and 1830 by order of King Frederick Will ...

File:Wikipedianer im Humboldt Forum-134.jpg, View from the palace to the

Berliner Dom Berlin Cathedral (), also known as the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church, is a monumental German Protestant church and dynastic tomb (House of Hohenzollern) at the Lustgarten on the Museum Island in central Berlin. Having it ...

File:Wikipedianer im Humboldt Forum-155.jpg, View from the palace to the Schlüterhof File:Wikipedianer im Humboldt Forum-157.jpg, View from the palace to the Schlüterhof File:Wikipedianer im Humboldt Forum-31.jpg, Column under construction File:Wikipedianer im Humboldt Forum-8.jpg, South and east façade

References

External links

Website Berlin Palace–Humboldtforum Foundation

Association Berliner Schloss e.V.

Humboldt-Box

Gesellschaft Berliner Schloss e.V.
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Berlin Palace-Humboldtforum Foundation Cultural organisations based in Germany Culture in Berlin