Ribbeckhaus

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The Ribbeckhaus is the oldest residential building in Berlin and the only surviving Renaissance building in the city. Today it houses the Center for Berlin Studies of the Central and State Library.

The Ribbeckhaus on Museum Island is the oldest residential building in Berlin. The only surviving Renaissance building owes its name not, as one might assume, to von Ribbeck from the poem by Theodor Fontane, but to the builder of the house, Georg von Ribbeck.

History of the Ribbeck house

The inscription above the portal of the house states that it was built in 1624 by Privy Councillor Hans Georg von Ribbeck and his wife Katharina von Brösicke, who had two older gabled houses converted into an eaves house. After being sold to Duchess Anna Sophia von Braunschweig-Lüneburg, the Ribbekhaus was rebuilt for the first time.

Frequent building alterations

Throughout its history, the house has been rebuilt again and again, so that today you can only recognize the original façade with a great deal of imagination. Around 1803/04, the house was even extended by one storey, which can still be seen today in the smaller, three-paned windows. The Renaissance gables were reattached to the new storey. After severe damage during the Second World War, the façade was rebuilt in a simplified form. The portal, on the other hand, is richly decorated and features ornamentation typical of the period.

Modern interior

Inside the Ribbeck-Haus is the Center for Berlin Studies of the Berlin Central and State Library. The Alter Marstall, which is directly adjacent to the Ribbeckhaus, is also part of the State Library. Berlin's only preserved early baroque functional building.

Information

• Address:
  Breite Str. 35
  10178 Berlin
  City map