Culture

Berlin museums open for International Museum Day

25 Apr, 2012

Museums in Berlin will be open free of charge on 20 May to mark international museum day. The theme this year is Museums in a Changing World; New Challenges, New Inspirations. There are nearly 200 museums in Berlin, with collections from ancient Egypt to the period of the Cold War.

They are divided into four main locations and subjects. On the Museum Island are the Old Museum, the New Museum, the Bode and the Pergamon. The Cultural Forum in Potsdamer Platz covers the visual arts from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, as well as photography, cinema and television. The Charlottenburg Palace focuses on Baroque, Rococo, French art movements and Surrealism, and most of the works were originally held in private collections. The Dahlem museums concentrate on non-European art and artefacts.

The Dahlem museums will eventually be relocated on the Museum Island in the reconstructed and controversial City Palace