Around 1871, first thoughts of an art museum came up at the imperial residence in Berlin. The royal architect... Ernst von Ihne finally built the magnificent Neo-Baroque building on the northern tip of the Museum Island between 1897 and 1904. Initially, the museum was named after Kaiser Frederick III. Since 1956, it has the name of its first director, Wilhelm von Bode (1845-1929). The dominant dome and the two opulent staircases convey a grand atmosphere, which is continued by the endless interior elements. During World War II, the building was severely damaged. Reconstruction was started in the 1950s, and the museum was reopened. Since 2006, the Bode museum is completely open to the public. It is home to numerous collections: the sculpture collection, the museum of Byzantine Art, the coin cabinet as well as several works from the painting gallery. The sculpture collection consists of amazing European works from the early Middle Ages to the 18th century. A special focus lies on the Italian department, which hosts masterpieces from the Middle Ages: sculptures such as the "Man of Sorrows" from Giovanni Pisano and masterpieces of the early Renaissance. Glaced terracotta from Luca della Robbia, the Pazzi Madonna from Donatello, and the portrait busts from Desiderio da Settignano, Francesco Laurana and Mino da Fiesole are highlights of the collection. The museum of Byzantine Art has an exquisite collection of late antique and Byzantine works of art and everyday objects. It focuses on the art of the West Romans and the Byzantine Empire from the 3rd to the 15th century. Rich ivory carvings, mosaic icons as well as late antique sarcophagi are part of the exhibition. Furthermore, a rich collection of figural and ornamental sculptures from the east Roman empire are presented. The coin cabinet is one of the oldest special exhibitions from the foundation of Prussian cultural heritage. They are particularly proud of the completeness of the coin collection ranging from the 7th century BC to today. The collection consists of especially precious compilations of 102,000 Greek and 50,000 Roman coins of ancient times, 160,000 European coins from the Middle Ages and modern times as well as 35,000 islamic-oriental coins. 25,000 medals are also part of the collection. Only a little portion of the big collection is on display: 4,000 coins and medals can be seen on the second floor along with descriptions in an interactive coin catalog. All other objects can be viewed downstairs by appointment. more

It towers above all of Berlin's other buildings - and Germany's, for that matter - and ranks on the list... of Europe's five tallest buildings: the 368-metre (1,207 ft) television tower at Alexanderplatz. In 1964, Walter Ulbricht, then Communist leader and head of East Germany's Socialist Unity Party (SED), ordered the construction of a monument that was to be visible from a distance and a fitting representation of the socialist part of Germany. Although the tower, which was given the nickname "Telespargel" ("Tele-Asparagus"), presented engineers and construction engineers with major challenges, it was possible to officially open it within only 53 months. The characteristic red and white aerial alone stands 118 m (387 ft) high. The silvery, shining spherical globe that separates the concrete structure from the aerial is 32 m (105 ft) in diameter and weighs 4,800 t. A fast-speed lift transports visitors to the globe (6 m/s or 19.6 ft/s). At a height of 207 m (679 ft), the Telecafé is located in the globe and rotates once every 30 minutes. The viewing platform is located at a height of 204 m (669 ft). The panoramic view is unique and on a clear day, you can see for up 40 km (24.8 miles) into the surrounding countryside. The view of the city by night and its sea of lights is a special experience. more

The Berlinische Gallery, musem of Modern Arts, Photography and Architecture is located in nice, clear... exhibition halls in a reconstructed glass warehouse in Kreuzberg. The new museum, founded in 1975, presents arts of all kinds made in Berlin from 1870 to the present day in its permanent exhibitions. Among them are works of Otto von Dix (“Der Dichter Iwar von Luecken”, 1928), and Georg Baselitz (“Ein moderner Maler", 1966), graphics of George Grosz (“Daum”, 1920), and Hannah Hoech (“Dada-Rundschau”, 1919), photographs of Raoul Hausmann and architectural models about the city planning. Some emphasis lies on the Berlin secession, dada, expressionism, and the Russian avant-garde in the Berlin of the 1920s. But also specific art and contemporary multimedia installations are part of the collection of the museum that is not scared of trying out new things. The rich offer is rounded off by special exhibitions, movies and readings. more

The Pergamon Museum is the most popular museum of the city and is visited by one million people each... year. The main attraction in the neo-classical building by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann is the magnificent Pergamon Altar (2nd century BC) with its impressive figure frieze displaying the battle between giants and gods. This masterpiece of Hellenism was discovered between 1878 and 1886 in Pergamon on Turkey's west coast and brought to Berlin. Another highlight of the antique collection is the 17-meter-high and 29-meter-wide Market Gate of Miletus (around 100 AD), a masterpiece of Roman architecture. Next to renowned anitque collections, the museum also hosts two further museums: the Middle East Museum and the Museum for Islamic Art. The Middle East Museum is one of the most important museums for oriental relics in the entire world. The Ishtar Gate of Babylon (605-692 BC), with its enchanting animal images on blue glass tiles, is definitely worth a visit. The lions, bulls, and dragons symbolize the main gods of Babylon, Ishtar, Adad and Marduk. The artfully executed brick reliefs of the reconstructed processional way, leading to the Ishtar gate, is also very impressive. The Museum for Islamic Art presents treasures from Islamic people from the 8th to the 19th centuries in all its shades. One must emphasize the richly adorned, 35-meter-long stone facade of the Desert Castle of Mshatta (734/744 AD), which was a present from the sultan Abdulhamid II for Kaiser Wilhlem II. Since March 2010, the Keir Collection enriches the museum with precious brocades and carpets, valuable mountain crystal objects as well as calligraphies, and elaborately decorated book bindings: real collectors' luck, which the lender Edmind de Unger now shares with the curious public. more

The Brücke Museum was opened in 1967 and houses the world's largest collection of this expressionist... artist assembly (1905-1913.) 400 paintings and sculptures are part of the collection as well as some thousand drawings, aquarelles, and original graphics from the founding members Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, und Fritz Bleyl as well as from the painters Max Pechstein, Emil Nolde, and Otto Mueller, who also became part of the group. The plain bungalow-type museum building (1967) from Werner Düttmann lies in a neighborhood of stately manner in Dahlem, close to the Grunewald lake. Temporary exhibitions show art from the “Brücke” founders and other avant-garde artists from the 20th century. Presents from Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Erich Heckel, who also initiated the museums foundation, make up the basis of the collection. more