_(6339770591).jpg) View of the Altes Museum from theLustgarten | |
 Interactive fullscreen map | |
| Location | Museum Island, Berlin |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 52°31′10″N13°23′54″E / 52.51944°N 13.39833°E /52.51944; 13.39833 |
| Public transit access | U:Museumsinsel ( ) |
| Website | Altes Museum |
 Interactive map of Altes Museum | |
| Part of | Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin |
| Criteria | Cultural: ii, iv |
| Reference | 896 |
| Inscription | 1999 (23rdSession) |
| Area | 8.6 ha (21 acres) |
| Buffer zone | 22.5 ha (56 acres) |
TheAltes Museum (English:Old Museum) is alisted building on theMuseum Island in thehistoric centre ofBerlin,Germany. Built between 1825 and 1830 by order of KingFrederick William III of Prussia according to plans byKarl Friedrich Schinkel, it is considered a major work ofGerman Neoclassical architecture.[1] It is surrounded by theBerlin Cathedral to the east, theBerlin Palace to the south and theZeughaus to the west. Currently, the Altes Museum houses theAntikensammlung and parts of theMünzkabinett.[2] As part of the Museum Island complex, the Altes Museum was listed as aUNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, in recognition of its testimony to the development of themuseum as a social and architectural phenomenon.[3]
In the early nineteenth century, Germany'sbourgeoisie had become increasingly self-aware and self-confident. This growing class began to embrace new ideas regarding the relationship between itself and art, and the concepts that art should be open to the public and that citizens should be able to have access to a comprehensive cultural education began to pervade society. KingFriedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia was a strong proponent of thisHumboldtian ideal for education and chargedKarl Friedrich Schinkel with planning a public museum for the royal art collection.
Schinkel's plans for theKönigliches Museum, as it was then known, were also influenced by drafts of the crown prince, the future KingFriedrich Wilhelm IV, who desired a building that was heavily influenced byClassical antiquity. The crown prince even sent Schinkel a pencil sketch of a large hall adorned with a classical portico.[citation needed]
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Schinkel's plans incorporated theKönigliches Museum into an ensemble of buildings, which surround theBerliner Lustgarten (pleasure garden). TheStadtschloss in the south was a symbol of worldly power, theZeughaus in the west represented military might, and theBerliner Dom in the east was the embodiment ofdivine authority. The museum to the north of the garden, which was to provide for the education of the people, stood as a symbol for science and art—and not least for their torchbearer: the self-aware bourgeoisie. For the front facing the Lustgarten, a simple columned hall in grand style and proportionate to the importance of the location would most certainly give the building character. The arrangement of the eighteen Ionic columns was effected by the Lustgarten. The portico was designed with a function in order to give the museum building an exterior befitting its site, in which the monuments can be placed.
Schinkel had developed plans for theKönigliches Museum as early as 1822/23, but construction did not begin until 1825. Construction was completed in 1828 and the museum was inaugurated on 3 August 1830.[4] Schinkel was also responsible for the renovation of theBerliner Dom, originally aBaroque cathedral, in the Neoclassical style, and he exercised considerable influence onPeter Joseph Lenné's renovation of theLustgarten, which coincided with the construction of the museum, resulting in a harmonized and integrated ensemble.[according to whom?]
In 1841, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV announced, in a royal decree, that the entire northern part of the Spree Island (now known as Museum Island) "be transformed into a sanctuary for art and science". In 1845, with the completion of theNeues Museum ("New"), theKönigliches Museum was renamed theAltes Museum ("Old"), a name it holds to this day.
With the completion of theNeues Museum byFriedrich August Stüler in 1855,Museum Island began to take form. This was followed by theNationalgalerie (now theAlte Nationalgalerie) byJohann Heinrich Strack (1876), theKaiser-Friedrich-Museum (now theBodemuseum) byErnst von Ihne after plans by Stüler (1904), and thePergamonmuseum byAlfred Messel andLudwig Hoffmann (1930). Thus, Museum Island evolved into the institution it is today.[5]
Julius Carl Raschdorff's 1894–1905 reconstruction of theBerliner Dom into aneo-Renaissance cathedral (replacing the classical cathedral designed by Schinkel) severely disrupted the classical ensemble, especially since the new cathedral has significantly larger dimensions than its predecessor.
The royally appointed commission, which was responsible for the conception of the museum, decided to display only "High Art" in the proposed building, which includedOld Master paintings andprints and drawings on the upper floor, as well asClassical sculpture fromancient Greece and Rome on the ground floor. This precluded the incorporation ofethnography, prehistory and the excavated treasures of the ancient Near East fromAssyria,Persia, and elsewhere); instead, these artifacts were primarily housed inSchloss Monbijou.
During theNazi era, the Altes Museum was used as the backdrop for propaganda, both in the museum itself and upon the parade grounds of the redesignedLustgarten. Close to the end ofSecond World War, the building was badly damaged when a tank truck exploded in front of it, and the frescoes designed by Schinkel andPeter Cornelius, which adorned the vestibule and the back wall of the portico, were largely lost.[4]
Under General Director Ludwig Justi, the building was the first museum of Museum Island to undergo reconstruction and restoration, which was carried out from 1951 to 1966 byHans Erich Bogatzky andTheodor Voissen. Following Schinkel's designs, the murals of the rotunda were restored in 1982. However, neither the ornate ceilings of the ground floor exhibition rooms nor the pairs of columns under the girders were reconstructed. The former connection to theNeues Museum has also not been rebuilt; instead, an underground passageway connecting all of the museums of Museum Island is planned as part of theMuseumsinsel 2015 renovations.[5]
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The Altes Museum was originally constructed to house all of the city's collections of fine arts, includingOld Master paintings, and prints and drawings. However, since 1904, the museum has solely housed theAntikensammlung (Collection of Classical Antiquities).[6] Since 1998, the Collection of Classical Antiquities has displayed its Greek collection, including the treasury, on the ground floor of the Altes Museum.[4] Special exhibitions are displayed on the second floor of the museum.
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