Berlin Neue Nationalgalerie asv2021-11 img1

The Kulturforum () is a collection of cultural buildings in Berlin. It was built up in the 1950s and 1960s at the edge of

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

, south of the Tiergarten, after most of the once unified city's cultural assets had been lost behind the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

. The Kulturforum is characterized by its innovative modernist architecture; several buildings are distinguished by the organic designs of

Hans Scharoun Bernhard Hans Henry Scharoun (; 20 September 1893 – 25 November 1972) was a German architect best known for designing the (home to the Berlin Philharmonic) and the Schminke House in Löbau, Saxony. He was an important exponent of Organic arc ...

, and the

Neue Nationalgalerie The Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) at the Kulturforum is a museum for modern art in Berlin, with its main focus on the 20th century. It is part of the National Gallery of the Berlin State Museums. The museum building and its sculpt ...

was designed by

Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. He is regarded as one of the pionee ...

. Today, the Kulturforum lies immediately to the west of the redeveloped commercial node of

Potsdamer Platz Potsdamer Platz (, ''Potsdam Square'') is a public square and traffic intersection in the center of Berlin, Germany, lying about south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building, Reichstag (Bundestag, German Parliament Building), and ...

Cultural institutions

Among the cultural institutions housed in and around the Kulturforum are: *

* *

Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin __NOTOC__ The Kunstgewerbemuseum, or Museum of Decorative Arts, is an internationally important museum of the decorative arts in Berlin, Germany, part of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin State Museums). The collection is split between th ...

(Museum of Decorative Arts) * Musical Instrument Museum * Kupferstichkabinett ( Print room) * Kunstbibliothek Berlin (Berlin Art Library) * * Chamber Music Hall *

Berlin State Library The Berlin State Library (; officially abbreviated as ''SBB'', colloquially ''Stabi'') is a universal library in Berlin, Germany, and a property of the German public cultural organization the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (). Founded in ...

''Haus Potsdamer Straße'' * Ibero-American Institute * Wissenschaftszentrum * St. Matthäus-Kirche

History

After World War II, the public art collections were divided by the Berlin Wall, with particularly the Old Master paintings split between the

Bode Museum The Bode Museum (), formerly called the Emperor Frederick Museum (), is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1898 to 1904 by order of German Emperor William II according to plans by Ernst ...

in what became the east, and a temporary exhibition space in Dahlem, a western suburban district of Berlin. Public opinion at the time of reunification strongly favored a return of the Old Masters to their historical home at the Bode Museum. Yet Wolf-Dieter Dube, the then director-general of the Berlin State Museums, pushed through his plans to move the collection to the Kulturforum, a modernist complex as answer to

Museum Island The Museum Island (, ) is a museum complex on the northern part of Spree (river), Spree Island in the Mitte (locality), historic heart of Berlin, Germany. It is one of the capital's most visited sights and one of the most important museum sites ...

. The

became the centerpiece of the new complex, completed in 1998 when the long-planned $140 million was opened nearby to house paintings of the 13th to 18th centuries.Desmond Butler (December 2, 2001)
Berlin Museum's Revival Bolsters German Identity
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.

Sources

External links

www.kulturforum-berlin.info
{{Authority control Culture in Berlin Tourist attractions in Berlin Museum districts Buildings and structures in Berlin Staatliche Museen zu Berlin