Neues Museum

The Neues Museum houses the archaeological collections of the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, the Museum of Pre- and Early History, as well as works from the Collection of Classical Antiquities.

The Neues Museum on Berlin’s Museum Island was opened in 1859 to bring relief to the over-popular and over-crowded Altes Museum. It was one of the most ambitious building projects of its time due to its use of new industrial construction technologies such as the steam engine. Built in the neo-Classical style, the three exhibition floors were decorated by important Classical painters, with a focal point being a grand staircase winding through all three stories. Near the end of World War II, the museum was severely damaged by bombing, and partially destroyed.

The building was left abandoned for decades, and restoration was only decided upon in 1985. Since 1997, British architect David Chipperfield has been charged with overseeing the renovation of the building as part of a general restoration of the entire Museum Island, which runs until 2015.

The Neues Museum will once again house the archaeological collections of the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, the Museum of Pre- and Early History, as well as works from the Collection of Classical Antiquities. The most prominent feature of the exhibit, the bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, described as “the world’s most beautiful woman,” will be centrally and prominently displayed in the north cupola of the building.